Vision Funds' Plunging Valuations Burdens Masayoshi Son With Debt Worth $5B

Masayoshi Son personally owes Softbank Group Corp SFTBF SFTBY close to $5 billion as mounting losses weigh on the Japanese conglomerate's technology bets.

Son's ballooning personal liabilities, discovered through a Financial Times analysis of SoftBank's, comes as the most prominent tech investor battled plunging tech stocks and valuations in private companies over the past year.

Last week, the 65-year-old CEO and founder of SoftBank said he would step back from running day-to-day operations at the group. 

Also Read: Softbank Disappoints Investors And Analysts With Lack Of Buyback Post Q2 Results

He said his main focus would be on the company's British chip subsidiary Arm after the technology conglomerate posted quarterly investment losses of $10 billion.

The widening losses in SoftBank's various investment vehicles have added billions of dollars to the tab that Son owes the group concerning its technology bets. 

The value of Son's 17.25% stake in SoftBank's $56 billion second Vision Fund was also wiped out entirely by the end of September, valued at $682 million during the previous quarter. 

His stake in the investment vehicle climbed as high as $2.8 billion at the end of 2021.

SoftBank netted off the value of his equity from the amount he owed the group, meaning at the end of 2021, this stood at just $4 million. 

Son also owes SoftBank $669 million under a similar arrangement on its Latin American fund. However, this is reduced to $252 million, considering his equity value in the funds. 

The total amount the Japanese executive owes his company is now at $4.7 billion when considering losses in the group's shortlived internal hedge fund SB Northstar.

Son has to cover a third of the losses in Northstar personally. The stock-trading unit's total investment losses grew to nearly $6 billion at the end of September.

In both Vision Fund 2 and the Latin America Fund, Son has pledged his stake in the funds and a portion of his SoftBank stake as collateral for the company he owes. On top of this, the billionaire founder has also provided a personal guarantee concerning the unpaid bill.

Price Action: SFTBF shares traded at $43.22 on the last check Friday.