- Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has reportedly invested $3 billion into Japanese holdings company SoftBank Group
Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has reportedly invested $3 billion into Japanese holdings company SoftBank Group, according to sources with Reuters. Elliott is reportedly interested in pushing for SoftBank to set up a $20 billion stock buyback program and better corporate governance. As a result of the investment, Eliott now owns about 3% of SoftBank.
Following the news about Elliott Management’s investment, shares in SoftBank surged nearly 10%. Before the report, SoftBank’s stock price took a hit due to some of the hits it took on some of its aggressive investments like WeWork.
“We are in complete agreement that our shares are deeply undervalued by public investors. SoftBank welcomes feedback from fellow shareholders,” said a SoftBank spokesperson an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Elliott Management has around $40 billion in assets under management. Founded in 1977 by Paul Singer, Elliott Management is known for turning companies around. And Paul Singer has a net worth of about $3.5 billion as of February 2020, according to Forbes.
Elliott is especially interested in SoftBank becoming more transparent about the investment decisions it makes through its Vision Fund programs. The first Vision Fund had capital commitments of $100 billion. And SoftBank is currently raising funds for the second Vision Fund.
