SoftBank considers listing wireless unit

TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp said it was considering listing its Japanese wireless business, seeking to raise a reported US$18bil in a move that would accelerate the conglomerate’s transformation into one of the world’s biggest tech investors.

A spin-off – potentially the biggest IPO by a Japanese company in nearly two decades – would also give the unit more autonomy as well as help investors with valuing the business and its parent.

SoftBank Group, which saw its shares climb 4% on the news, has a vast range of holdings including stakes in British chip designer ARM Holdings, struggling US wireless service provider Sprint Corp as well as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

It has with other investors also set up a US$93biln Vision Fund, that is investing in range of firms to capitalise on a tech future expected to be driven by artificial intelligence, robotics and interconnected devices.

SoftBank Group plans to sell some 30% of SoftBank Corp, raising around 2 trillion yen (US$18bil) that would go towards investments in growth, such as buying into foreign information-technology companies, the Nikkei newspaper said without citing sources.

It plans to seek approval from the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as spring and aims to debut in Tokyo as well as overseas, possibly London, around autumn, the business daily said.

SoftBank Group said in a statement that a listing of the business was one option for its capital strategy but that no such decision had been made.

A 2 trillion yen (US$18bil) IPO would be one of the biggest listings by a Japanese company, rivalling the 2.2 trillion yen 1986 offering of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp as well as a 2.1 trillion yen listing by NTT DoCoMo Inc a decade later.

The domestic telecoms unit, Japan’s No. 3 wireless carrier, posted a 4.5% rise in operating profit to 720 billion yen in the year ended March on sales of 3.2 trillion yen.

SoftBank Group’s complicated structure and constant stream of new investments have left many investors struggling to value the company with analysts often noting that its market value does not accurately reflect the value of its massive holdings..