Daniel Loeb‘s latest bet on SoftBank Corp. indicates the U.S. hedge fund investor’s confidence in billionaire founder Masayoshi Son‘s ability to deliver more synergies between the firm’s diverse Internet and mobile businesses.
- Bloomberg News
- The leadership of CEO Masayoshi Son at SoftBank Corp. has inspired the confidence of Daniel Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund.
Third Point LLC has a $1 billion position in SoftBank, according to a fund spokeswoman, who confirmed remarks made by Mr. Loeb on Thursday at an investor conference in New York.
It remains unclear when he made the investment, but Third Point was not among SoftBank’s biggest shareholders with a stake of more than 1% as of the end of September. SoftBank’s market value stood at $94 billion on Thursday. The stock has already gone up 29% since the end of August and added another 2.9% at the open of the Tokyo stock market Friday.
A person close to Third Point said Mr. Loeb finds SoftBank’s “multiple portfolio” attractive, referring to Mr. Son’s 35% stake in Web portal Yahoo Japan Corp., a majority stake in GungHo Online Entertainment Inc., and a 36.7% stake in China’s top online retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Mr. Son has also made a big push into the U.S. market through July’s $21.6 billion acquisition of U.S. telecommunications carrier Sprint Corp. Considering the company’s growth potential especially with Alibaba, Mr. Loeb views SoftBank shares as being undervalued, the person added.
Mr. Loeb also met with Mr. Son and was impressed by his leadership and vision, according to the person. It’s unclear when the meeting took place, but Mr. Loeb visited Japan in early October.
The U.S. hedge fund has been active in the Japanese market with Mr. Loeb bullish on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies.
Third Point also made an investment in Sony Corp. and called unsuccessfully for a partial spin-off of its entertainment business.
So far, Mr. Loeb’s stake in SoftBank appears to be a pure investment and he has not sent out any letters to SoftBank calling for any changes, according to the person.
How long Mr. Loeb will remain invested in SoftBank is an open-ended question, but he’s certainly not the only one betting on the company’s future. The stock has soared 161% so far this year and it’s a favorite pick for many institutional and retail investors.
Brad Frischkorn contributed to this item.
