This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
On November 6, 2019, SoftBank Group of Japan announced a significant financial hit, taking a multibillion-dollar write-down related to its stakes in WeWork and Uber.
SoftBank Group, the world's largest tech investor, has used its $100 billion Vision Fund to become a kingmaker in the space by placing major bets on companies it believes have the potential to dominate entire industries.
However, the company's bet on WeWork, the tech-adjacent American real estate company, has soured spectacularly. WeWork's $47 billion valuation plummeted virtually overnight after its effort to sell shares to the public revealed deep governance issues, including questionable financial arrangements involving Adam Neumann, its leader and founder.
SoftBank now values WeWork at $7.8 billion, a significant drop from its initial valuation. The company's profits for the six months that ended in September totaled 421 billion yen, or nearly $3.9 billion, about half the level of the same period a year ago.
SoftBank cited a nearly $4.6 billion write-down in the value of its investment in WeWork, plus write-downs in other investments, including Uber, the American ride-hailing company.
SoftBank's chief executive, Masayoshi Son, has come under increasing pressure to rein in his company's stable of potential unicorns following the spectacular implosion of WeWork's initial public offering in late September.
