SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is open for business

The SoftBank Vision Fund is most certainly back in the black, according to the Japanese telecom giant during its Monday earnings call.

After missteps last year such as WeWork, SoftBank said its 83 Vision Fund 1 investments are now valued at $1.4 billion more than their cost.

And while Vision Fund 2 struggled last year to raise outside funding, SoftBank emphasized that the smaller second fund has had a substantial gain, in part after a single IPO. Riding on the back of Ke Holdings, a Chinese online property platform that listed in the U.S. In August, Vision Fund 2 was valued at $7.6 billion compared to a cost of $2.6 billion.

That’s significant: The second Vision Fund is held up only by SoftBank’s own capital. And should new investors want to put their capital into the fund and its new strategy as it seeks more modest bets, CEO Masayoshi Son said the fund is always open to outside investors.

A clear comparison of the Vision Fund to its past operations though is somewhat more difficult than before, as the firm decided to forego disclosures related to operating profits or losses earlier this year.

But SoftBank’s financials reveal a surprisingly quick comeback for the company: It posted a profit of over $6 billion in the quarter ending in September as markets rose, after a stunning loss in 2019. Firm-wide attempts to bring its share value back in line with those of its assets, including the sale of part of its hefty stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, have played a big role.

Not every bet has worked out, however. The company also recorded an investment loss of about $1.3 billion from “investment in listed stock” and other derivatives in the six months ending September.

Also of note: As activist investor Elliott Management has pressured the company to bolster corporate governance with a higher proportion of outside directors, four internal directors resigned from the board. Those names are SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure, Chief Strategy Officer Katsunori Sago, and Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra. The head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir O. AI-Rumayyan, also stepped down. 

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: [email protected]

VENTURE DEALS

- Pony.ai, a Fremont, Calif.-based developer of self-driving cars, raised $267 million in funding, valuing it at over $5.3 billion. TIP led the round and was joined by investors including joined by investors including Fidelity China Special Situations PLC, 5Y Capital, ClearVue Partners and Eight Roads.

- VIPThink, a Chinese edtech platform also known as Wandou Siwei, raised $180 million in Series C funding. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including Sinovation Ventures, New Oriental, DCM, and Enlight Growth Partners. Read more.

- Congenica, a Cambridge, U.K.-based maker of rapid analyses of complex genomic data, raised $50 million in Series C funding. Tencent and Legal & General co-led the round and were joined by investors including Xeraya, Puhua Capital and IDO Investments. 

- Apollomics, a Foster City, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology and incubated by OrbiMed Asia, raised $124.2 million in Series C funding. Ping An Capital led the round.  Read more.

- Yuntongxun, a Beijing-based cloud communication service provider, raised $120 million in Series F funding. Capital Venture Investment Fund led the round. Read more.

- Eko, an Oakland, Calif.-based cardiopulmonary digital health company, raised $65 million in Series C funding. Highland Capital Partners and Questa Capital led the round and were joined by investors including Artis Ventures, DigiTx Partners, NTTVC, and 3M Ventures.

- Mind Foundry, an Oxford, U.K.-based A.I. Company spun out of the University of Oxford’s Machine Learning Research Group, raised $13.6 million in Series A funding. Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co. Led the round and was joined by investors including Parkwalk Advisors, Oxford Sciences Innovation, the University of Oxford, and the Oxford Technology and Innovations EIS Fund. 

- Slintel, a Mountainview, Calif.-based platform determining when potential b2b clients are buying, and what, raised $4.2million. Accel led the round and was joined by investors including Sequoia Capital India and Stellaris Ventures.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- The Carlyle Group agreed to acquire Japan Asia Group, a Japan-based maker of environmental solutions, for ¥37 billion ($357 million).

- The Carlyle Group acquired a majority stake in Manna Pro Products, a St. Louis-based maker of specialty pet care products, from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Triton Partners are among the firms considering an acquisition of Bilfinger SE, a Germany-based industrial services provider, per Bloomberg citing sources. Read more.

- Huntsworth, a portfolio company of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, agreed to acquire Nucleus Global, a London-based medical marketing and communications firm. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- New Mountain Capital invested in HealthComp Holding Company, a Fresno, Calif.-based administrator of healthcare benefits for self-funded employers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Pacific Defense acquired Spear Research, a Nashua, N.H.-based national defense tech company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Priority Power Management, backed by Ara Capital Partners, acquired Texas Power Consultants, a Tyler, Texas-based energy advisory and consulting firm. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Wheel Pros, backed by Clearlake Capital, acquired the assets of Performance Replicas, a distributor of replica wheels. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

- PAI Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in Winterbotham Darby, a supplier of chilled foods to U.K. Supermarket chains, from Equistone Partners Europe. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Endless acquired a majority stake in Hovis, a U.K.-based bakery brand, from the The Gores Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Read more.

- Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) acquired CoverHound, a San Francisco based insurance policy marketplace for individuals and small businesses that is also behind CyberPolicy. CoverHound was backed by investors including Chubb, Core Innovation Capital, and American Family Ventures. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Traton, Volkswagen AG's truck unit, agreed to acquire the stake it does not own in Navistar International, a U.S.-based truck maker, for $3.7 billion. 

- Novo Nordisk agreed to acquire Emisphere Technologies, a Roseland, N.J.-based developer of an treatments that can be orally taken, for  $1.8 billion. Read more.

- Walmart said it will sell its retail operations in Argentina to Grupo de Narváez, a South American supermarket chain operator, taking a non-cash loss of about $1 billion. Read more.

- Take-Two Interactive Software (Nasdaq: TTWO) offered to acquire Codemasters Group Holdings (LON: CDM), a U.K.-based videogame developer, valuing it at about 739.2 million pounds ($973 million). Read more.

- Apple  and Sony Music Entertainment have each held talks about potentially acquiring Wondery, a podcasting producer backed by Greycroft and Lerer Hippeau. Wondery is seeking a valuation of as much as $400 million. Read more.

- Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq:DSGX) acquired ShipTrack, a Canadian e-commerce final-mile tracking solution. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPO

- SUSE, a German enterprise software developer, is weighing an IPO for next year that could value it at €5 billion ($5.9 billion). EQT backs the firm. Read more.

SPAC

- Paysafe Group, a London-based payments group, is weighing an IPO or a combination with a blank check company, including with one backed by Bill Foley, per Bloomberg. Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners back Paysafe. A deal could value the firm at $10 billion including debt. Read more.

- Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition, a blank check company targeting the technology, media, and telecom sectors, raised $220 million.

F+FS

- Graham Partners closed its fifth fund with $937 million in commitments.