Tag - softbank

 
 

SOFTBANK

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2020
Former Zozo fashion retailer Yusaku Maezawa seeks girlfriend for 2023 SpaceX voyage
Call it "The Bachelor: Lunar Edition."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 27, 2019
Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai, one of the few directors to stand up to Masayoshi Son, exits SoftBank board
Fast Retailing Co. Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Yanai is leaving SoftBank Group Corp.'s board after more than 18 years as one of the few directors with the heft to challenge Masayoshi Son.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 25, 2019
Masayoshi Son: Tech visionary or robber baron?
We're coming to realize that the SoftBank founder is less a business guru than a 19th-century capitalist.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2019
WeWork bailout stalls as Japan banks balk at lending Softbank $3 billion
SoftBank Group Corp.'s talks to secure $3 billion (about ¥328 billion) from the nation's three biggest banks have stalled as the lenders have hit internal lending limits to the firm, two people said, complicating a $9.5 billion rescue package for WeWork.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2019
Masayoshi Son's bankers worried about their favorite client
Masayoshi Son's bankers are taking a hard look at their most important client.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2019
SoftBank-backed OneConnect sees valuation tumble in U.S. IPO
Ping An Insurance Co.'s OneConnect Financial Technology said Thursday it raised around $312 million in its U.S. initial public offering, valuing the company at around $3.7 billion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2019
SoftBank will have 'last laugh' on WeWork deal, analyst predicts
SoftBank Group Corp.'s massive investment in WeWork triggered a multibillion-dollar write-down and a rare apology from founder Masayoshi Son. But one analyst argues the deal is likely to work in the end and SoftBank will have the "last laugh."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2019
SoftBank's new tech fund to fall shy of target, Telegraph reports
SoftBank Group Corp. has scaled back ambitions for its second Vision Fund after the failure of big bets, including WeWork, by its first fund rattled partners such as Saudi Arabia, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 6, 2019
SoftBank and University of Tokyo to open business-oriented AI research centers
SoftBank Corp. and the University of Tokyo have agreed to open artificial-intelligence centers staffed with specialists from the university and around the world, to swiftly turn research into profitable business ventures so Japan can keep up with the U.S. and China.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2019
SoftBank's startup bookkeeping draws scrutiny after WeWork fiasco
In early 2018, the founders of Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime Group Ltd. flew to Tokyo to see billionaire investor Masayoshi Son. As they entered the offices, Chief Executive Officer Xu Li was hoping to persuade the head of SoftBank Group Corp. to invest $200 million in his three-year-old...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 26, 2019
KDDI and Facebook to jointly develop 5G services in Japan
KDDI Corp. and social media giant Facebook Inc. will jointly develop services to be provided through a 5G network in Japan, according to informed sources.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2019
SoftBank launches $3 billion tender offer for WeWork shares
WeWork parent We Co. agreed to the Japanese conglomerate's tender offer, one element of a $9.5 billion rescue package for the ailing office-sharing company, last month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2019
WeWork's escape plan is buried in the books at its Tokyo office
Masayoshi Son stood on stage in Tokyo earlier this month and told skeptical SoftBank Group Corp. investors that making WeWork Cos. profitable is not only possible, but will be "simple." Driving that confidence is WeWork's Japanese unit, which is already in the black and will be the springboard for a...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 25, 2019
SoftBank to go ahead with WeWork stock tender offer this week
SoftBank Group Corp. will this week launch a previously agreed tender offer for as much as $3 billion of WeWork shares, including up to $970 million owned by the office sharing company's cofounder, Adam Neumann, two people familiar with the matter said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2019
WeWork to lay off 2,400 employees globally in SoftBank revamp
WeWork said on Thursday it is laying off around 2,400 employees globally, as the office-sharing company seeks to drastically cut costs and stabilize its business after it transformed from a Wall Street darling into a pariah in a matter of weeks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2019
SoftBank in talks with Japanese banks as it seeks loans to bail out WeWork
SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks with partner financial institutions including Mizuho Bank to secure loans totaling ¥200 billion to ¥300 billion to support The We Co., operator of the WeWork office-sharing business, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 20, 2019
Robotics investments help SoftBank create Roomba rival Whiz
SoftBank Group Corp. has put billions of dollars into a laser-based technology that could allow cars to drive themselves and help astronauts land on distant planets. It turns out that same technology makes a pretty good vacuum cleaner.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?