TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Wednesday he plans to devote the bulk of his time to hunt for technology investments around the world, as part of a major shift in focus at the Japanese tech and telecoms conglomerate.
“I have spent 97 percent of my time on managing the telecoms business and only 3 percent on investing,” Son said. Reversing that balance will allow SoftBank to grow faster, he said.
The comments, made to investors at the group’s annual general meeting, came as shareholders approved the appointment of three executive vice-presidents - SoftBank unit Sprint Corp’s (S.N) former chief executive, Marcelo Claure, and former bankers Katsunori Sago and Rajeev Misra.
Son’s comments fit with a transformation underway at SoftBank from a domestic telecoms firm to “unicorn hunter” - as Son termed it - focusing on late-stage startups around the world.
SoftBank and its investment vehicle Vision Fund, which raised over $93 billion last year, have stormed the world of dealmaking, buying up stakes in disruptive tech companies such as shared-office space firm WeWork and ride-hailing rivals Uber Technologies Inc, Didi Chuxing, Ola and Grab.
Bolivian-born billionaire Claure was appointed SoftBank’s chief operating officer in May, tasked with driving cooperation between the group’s portfolio companies. Former Goldman Sachs executive Sago became chief strategy officer on Wednesday and will focus on group investment. Misra runs the Vision Fund.
Son also bemoaned the so-called conglomerate discount weighing on SoftBank’s shares. He said when the market value of stakes the firm holds in companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and
