SoftBank Group Corp is buying back $5bn worth of shares after their recent slump. According to a 13 March Financial Times story, the move is partly due to pressure from activist fund Elliott Management. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and Elliott Management both argue that SoftBank’s $72bn market capitalisation does not reflect the value of its investment portfolio, which includes majority stakes in UK chip designer Arm, and US telecoms group Sprint.
In a short statement released by Elliott Management, the activist fund said, “SoftBank’s announcement of its intention to commence an initial buyback program of ¥500bn is clearly an important first step in addressing the company’s significant undervaluation, and one that Elliott supports”.
