"'Corporate Raider' Elliott's New Target is SoftBank"

Demand for Stock Price Boost After Acquiring 3% Stake
Market Cap Rated Low Compared to Holding Company Value
Bad Relations with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and Others

Chairman Masayoshi Son of SoftBank
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has targeted SoftBank, led by Chairman Son Jeong-ui.

On the 6th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources, that Elliott purchased about 3% of SoftBank's shares (worth $2.5 billion).

Elliott is a hedge fund famous for its investment strategy of buying large amounts of undervalued company stocks, participating in management to raise stock prices, and then selling them. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company have also been targets.

Since last month, Elliott has reportedly held meetings with SoftBank's management, including Chairman Son, seeking a cooperative relationship. However, it is uncertain how long this cooperation will last.

WSJ reported that Elliott studied for over a year to find ways to increase SoftBank's stock price. Elliott appears to have focused on the fact that SoftBank is undervalued compared to the value of its invested companies.

This time as well, Elliott is expected to attempt to raise the stock price by demanding share buybacks. Sources say that demands for share buybacks worth $10 billion to $20 billion have already been conveyed. Elliott is also likely to dispatch its personnel to SoftBank's board of directors.

SoftBank's ambitious Vision Fund is also a target of Elliott's interest. The Vision Fund is a $100 billion fund operated by SoftBank with large-scale investment from Saudi Arabia. For Chairman Son, who is on the verge of raising a second Vision Fund, the emergence of a powerful shareholder is inevitably uncomfortable.

Attention is also focused on how Chairman Son, known as the Midas touch of the IT industry, will defend against Elliott's offensive. Last year, Son's leadership was damaged due to the decline in value and failed IPOs of invested companies such as WeWork, so a turnaround is necessary. SoftBank stated, "We welcome shareholders' opinions." SoftBank's stock was trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this morning up 6% compared to the previous day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.