What exactly is the vision for SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund?
Ostensibly, it's to invest in the world's newest and most exciting technologies. But Masayoshi Son's almost $100 billion fund also houses a growing number of former Deutsche Bank AG traders who spearheaded the lender's push into risky, illiquid derivatives ahead of the 2008 credit crisis.
Their presence begs a question of the Vision Fund, whose backers include Apple Inc. and Saudi Arabia. Is its long-term goal to get into everything from ride-hailing apps to indoor farming, or is it more about getting juicy returns?
One Fund to Rule Them AllSoftBank's $93.2 billion Vision Fund is the world's largest private equity fund...
Colin Fan, the former equity derivatives trader and eventual co-head of Deutsche Bank's investment banking and trading unit, joined SoftBank earlier this year, while Rajeev Misra, who built the German lender's credit derivatives and trading business, is the Japanese company's head of strategic finance and a member of the fund's investment committee.And September 25:
The two cut their teeth in proprietary trading at the bank, and Misra has been singled out as driving the lender's controversial push into structuring and sales of exotic instruments. They're not alone. Plenty of former Deutsche Bank traders are now part of Son's new outfit, including Akshay Naheta, who's helping with public equity investments and potential acquisitions, and Saleh Romeih, who used to be a managing director in Deutsche Bank's credit trading business.
Anshu Jain, Deutsche Bank's former co-chief executive officer and key architect of its rapid growth in markets prior to the credit crunch, was an adviser at SoftBank-backed U.S. based online lender Social Finance Inc. until recently.
Whether or not all these ex-investment banking executives work mainly for the Vision Fund, which is run out of an office in London's Mayfair, or SoftBank, one thing is clear: Links between the two are tight....MORE
SoftBank Can't Count on Perpetual Fans
Masayoshi Son has found a new breed of believers: yield-hungry Asian investors....MORE
SoftBank Group Corp. has already issued $7.9 billion of dollar-denominated bonds this year, but there's a key difference versus other offerings.
These notes are unique in that they cater specifically to Asian investors. The Japanese technology conglomerate's $4.5 billion of perpetual securities, sold in July, are registered in Singapore and classed as Reg S, meaning SoftBank couldn't market them to money managers in the U.S. In 2013, when SoftBank first tapped the dollar bond market, its $2.5 billion issue was 144A
SoftBank's two lots of perpetual bonds, which pay a coupon of 6 percent and 6.875 percent, also include an interest deferral option. Their prospectus states that SoftBank may:...
Interesting, no?
