SoftBank To File For First SPAC IPO Today, Seeking To Raise Up To $600M: Axios

SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY will be filing for an initial public offering of its first special purpose acquisition company on Monday, Axios reports.

What Happened: The Japanese conglomerate is looking to raise between $500 million and $600 million in the IPO, people familiar with the matter told Axios.

SoftBank Investment Advisers, the $100 billion vision fund manager, will reportedly sponsor the SPAC seeking to invest in a new company that is not part of SoftBank’s current portfolio.

The Japanese company has plans for at least two more SPACs in the vine, as per Axios. The leading book-runners for the issue are Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS and Citigroup Inc C.

Why Does It Matter: Japanese billionaire and CEO of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, is well-known for backing technology startups like the ride-sharing app Uber Technologies Inc UBER and workspace software company Slack Technologies Inc. WORK.

This is the first instance when the Son-led SoftBank will raise funds from investors to set up a blank check company. Typically, SPACs target privately held companies for acquisition and take them public through a reverse merger.

Sanjeev Misra, the CEO of Vision Fund, disclosed plans to launch a blank check company in October.

At the time, Misra hinted that an official announcement would be made in two weeks. The reason for the delay is unclear.

Price Action: SFTBY stock closed 0.79% lower at $40.18 on Friday.

Related News: 2020 Is The Year Of The SPAC, But Goldman Sachs Says 2021 Could Be Even Bigger

Photo by IS-alcott on Wikimedia

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsIPOsTechAxiosSPACs
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!