SoftBank supremo eyes rare success with IPO

Good gains: Son speaking at a press conference in Tokyo. The once exalted investor could see the United Kingdom firm valued at up to US$52bil, a healthy gain on the US$32bil SoftBank spent in 2016 to take control of it. — AFP

TOKYO: Masayoshi Son’s once-exalted reputation as an investor is badly tarnished, but the irrepressible founder of Japan’s SoftBank is hoping that the mega- initial public offering (IPO) of Arm this week might bring back the good times.

The flamboyant farmer’s son who rose to become one of the world’s richest people is hoping that the United States listing of 10% of the chip designer will raise US$4.5bil to US$5.2bil.