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SoftBank considers IPO for Japan wireless unit

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TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp said on Monday it was considering listing its Japanese wireless business, seeking to raise a reported $18 billion in a move that would accelerate the conglomerate’s transformation into one of the world’s biggest tech investors.


A spin-off would also give the unit more autonomy as well as help investors with valuing the business and its parent.


SoftBank Group has a vast range of holdings including stakes in British chip designer ARM Holdings, struggling US wireless service provider Sprint Corp as well as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.


It has with other investors also set up a $93 billion Vision Fund, that is investing in range of firms to capitalise on a tech future expected to be driven by artificial intelligence, robotics and interconnected devices.


SoftBank Group plans to sell some 30 per cent of SoftBank Corp, raising around 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) that would go towards investments in growth, such as buying into foreign information-technology companies, the Nikkei newspaper said.


It plans to seek approval from the Tokyo Stock Exchange as early as spring and aims to debut in Tokyo as well as overseas, possibly London, around autumn, the business daily said.


SoftBank Group said in a statement that a listing of the business was one option for its capital strategy but that no such decision had been made.


A $18 billion IPO would be one of the biggest listings by a Japanese company, rivaling the 2.2 trillion yen 1986 offering of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp as well as a 2.1 trillion yen listing by NTT DoCoMo Inc a decade later. — Reuters


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