Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group has moved swiftly to cool down speculation over reports claiming it is preparing to list its mobile unit on the stock exchange in Tokyo. Speculation has become so rife the company was forced to issue a statement concerning the potential IPO listing. In the statement released to the press, it reiterated that no decision has been formally made to officially proceed with the IPO listing of its mobile unit.
In addition to this, the statement pointed out that the company was continuously actively pursuing potential capital strategy options and claimed that a listing of SoftBank Corp shares is an option it is considering.
The general consensus amongst the reports circulating in Japan suggest that the mobile unit will apply to the Tokyo Stock Exchange in early Spring in order to receive share to trade by the following autumn. In addition, it is also reportedly planning to launch an overseas debut with London being touted as the most likely choice.
The initial public offering (IPO), involving the sale of 30 per cent of SoftBank’s shares, would bring in as much as JPY2 trillion yen ($18 billion), which would make it one of the largest IPOs by a Japanese company.
The Japanese colossus which acquired US-based firm Sprint in 2013 and the UK-based chip designer ARM in 2016 would maintain about a 70% share in the mobile unit, which is also the country’s third largest mobile player with an 18.5% share of total subscribers in the country.
SoftBank is one of the most profitable companies in the entire world, and is progressive in terms of innovation. In 2016, it set up the Vision Fund with the Saudi Arabian government along with other investors, which was focused on investing in new innovations across a diverse range of industries.
SoftBank’s raft of new investments have complicated its corporate structure, which Reuters said left some investors struggling to value the company and analysts complaining its market value does not accurately reflect the value of its massive holdings.
