More Stake Sale Of Softbank's Loss Making Businesses, Latest Being This British E-Commerce Retail

Softbank Group Corp SFTBF SFTBY offloaded its stake in the struggling British online shopping firm THG Plc THGPF THGHY to co-founder Matthew Moulding and Qatar Investment Authority.

The move ended speculation about Softbank's fateful investment, writing off up to £450 million ($511 million) of a stake previously valued at about £500 million, Bloomberg reported.

SB Northstar, the fourth largest shareholder in THG, will sell its 80.6 million shares, representing about 6.4% of the British company's capital, Reuters reports.

THG and SoftBank had agreed to terminate their collaboration in July due to challenging global market conditions.

While it is unclear exactly how much Softbank lost on the deal, it is selling its stake for just £31 million. The QIA, already a shareholder, will purchase about 84% of the shares, and the transaction will likely occur on October 20.

THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, operates hundreds of websites offering beauty, skincare, and health-food products and helping rivals sell online via Ingenuity. 

THG's shares have fallen by 80% in 2022. It issued a profit warning in September on weaker consumer appetite in the U.K. and higher costs for raw materials 

Takeover speculation has constantly stirred around THG after Moulding said he regretted floating the company and hinted he might take the business private again.

Moulding's purchase will take his holding in THG to 320.9 million shares, about 25% of the group's capital.

In September, Softbank sold its entire stake in Sinch AB (OTC: CLCMF) following a share price collapse of more than 90% in the Swedish cloud-based platform provider. 

Softbank founder Masayoshi Son had shared cost-cut intentions at his conglomerate and the Vision Fund investment arm after a record $ 23 billion loss. 

Price Action: SFTBY shares traded lower by 1.85% at $18.60 on the last check Tuesday.