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☆ Arm, the Chip Designer, Files for an I.P.O. Expected to Be Among the Largest
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Santul Nerkar | Don Clark | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It MattersThe move will provide Arm’s parent company, SoftBank, with more capital to further invest in start-ups. In the filing, Arm said more than 30 billion Arm-manufactured chips were shipped last fiscal year. But Arm technology is also found in myriad other products, including home appliances, cars and industrial equipment. Arm was a public company until 2016, when SoftBank bought it for $32 billion. SoftBank has taken huge losses since that failed acquisition, posting a $3.3 billion loss in this year’s first quarter.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, SoftBank, Rene Haas Organizations: Apple, Nvidia, Vision

☆ Alibaba previews benefits of slimming down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just months after announcing a six-way breakup, Alibaba's (9988.HK) corporate overhaul is off to a good start. Quarterly sales jumped 14% year-on-year in the three months to June and all its main business units are growing again. That should ease concern that Alibaba is losing market share to rivals like PDD (PDD.O). In logistics and digital media, both reported positive adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation in the recent quarter, versus losses a year ago. It’s early days but a more focused and less bloated Alibaba is starting to emerge.

Persons: It’s, Robyn Mak, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, HK, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG

☆ UK GDP jump offers little relief to BoE
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The larger-than-forecast 0.5% rise in GDP in June meant that output grew 0.2% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months. That’s a modest acceleration but not enough to force the Bank of England to hike rates again in September. Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s finance minister, was quick to claim credit for the GDP numbers. Less rational is the sharp jump in sterling and UK bond yields, fuelled by market expectations that the BoE will now have to raise rates in September. Sure, June GDP numbers were strong but they were flattered by the absence of the bank holiday that had depressed May’s figures.

Persons: That’s, Jeremy Hunt, BoE, Francesco Guerrera, Aimee Donnellan, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, England soccer, Bank of, Conservative, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, Britain

☆ Siemens’ spreading rot obscures elusive value
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeLONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Siemens’ (SIEGn.DE) problems are no longer affecting just its periphery. Shares in its spun-out unit Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) have lost more than 40% this year due to faulty wind turbines. Chief Executive Roland Busch pointed the finger at China, saying slowing demand in Siemens’ third biggest market was to blame. Siemens shares fell as much as 7% on the news. Siemens shares are now trading over 30% below JPMorgan’s valuation based on a sum of the parts calculation.

Persons: Mike Blake LONDON, Roland Busch, Busch, Pamela Barbaglia, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Siemens, Coaster, REUTERS, Reuters, Siemens Energy, West, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Oceanside , California, U.S, China, Chengdu, Shenzhen

☆ SoftBank’s Arm-twisting fails to convince
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shareholders already had good reason to take that with a pinch of salt. The Japanese conglomerate’s 478 billion yen ($3.3 billion) net loss, which missed analysts’ estimates, included an increase in the carrying value of chip designer Arm, even though revenue dipped. That allowed the company’s Vision Fund to post a $1.1 billion profit, its first in six quarters. But investors in the Japanese group will be waiting a long time for SoftBank’s new campaign to pay off. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Masayoshi Son, Yoshimitsu Goto, ’, Navneet, Arm’s, Antony Currie, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, SoftBank, Fund, Vision Fund, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson

☆ Italian bank tax flip-flop leaves lasting scars
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Italian government has raced to soothe bank investors spooked by its ill-thought-out bank windfall tax. The government has now said that the levy will be capped at 0.1% of total assets. If so, and applied to banks’ Italian businesses, then the total haul would be just under 2 billion euros, according to UBS. Still, bank shares have only partially recovered. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: tanking, Siena, That’s, Giorgia Meloni, Neil Unmack, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Banca Monte dei, UBS, Banca, Banco, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson

☆ SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Says He’s Focusing on AI Inventions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/softbanks-masayoshi-son-says-hes-focusing-on-ai-inventions-621089ac

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Had His Cry. Now He’s in Love Again—With ChatGPT.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ ChatGPT Told SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son His Ideas Are Great. Now He’s Investing Big in AI.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ ChatGPT Told Softbank’s Masayoshi Son His Ideas Are Great. Now He’s Investing Big in AI.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Shifts to ‘Offense’ in A.I. Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For months, Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s voluble founder and chief executive, kept quiet as his tech conglomerate has struggled with huge investment losses. But as the world races to embrace artificial intelligence — something that has long fascinated him — Mr. Son used his company’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday to publicly, and memorably, restate his commitment to becoming a leader in the cutting-edge technology. Son told investors and analysts, adding: “I want SoftBank to lead the A.I. — the SoftBank chief began by asking, “What is mankind?”The answer, apparently, is something that can benefit from the technology behind chatbots, which has already spurred an investment boom.

Persons: Masayoshi, SoftBank’s, Son, Mr Organizations: Vision

☆ SoftBank’s Arm IPO set for double stroke of luck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) boss Masayoshi Son must be breathing a sigh of relief over the forthcoming float of his chip designer Arm. In April it announced plans to work with Arm to ensure that Intel’s factories can produce chips based on the UK group’s designs. The second, and perhaps more important, stroke of luck is the ongoing valuation frenzy for companies linked to artificial intelligence. Follow @karenkkwok on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSIntel is in talks with SoftBank Group’s Arm to be an anchor investor in the chip designer’s initial public offering, Reuters reported on June 12, citing a source familiar with the matter. Shares in SoftBank, which bought Arm in 2016, rose 5% to 6,310 yen on June 13.

Persons: Masayoshi, he’d, Jefferies, Arm’s, SoftBank, Liam Proud, Pranav Kiran, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, SoftBank, Intel, Nvidia, Bloomberg, Philadelphia Semiconductor, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, SoftBank

With that out of the way, Zhang is cleared to focus on Alibaba's massive corporate overhaul unveiled last month. Current shareholders will be left with a holding company led by Zhang, plus Alibaba's cash-cow Chinese commerce business. After all, Alibaba's U.S. shares are down over 60% in the past two years, while the S&P 500 has stayed largely flat. The sales will eventually reduce SoftBank's stake in Alibaba to 3.8%. In 2022, SoftBank booked a gain of $34 billion by cutting its stake in Alibaba to 14.6% from 23.7%.

☆ SoftBank-Alibaba sale looks awkward for Prosus
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, April 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - SoftBank Group (9984.T) and Prosus (PRX.AS) are two very different beasts. Prosus owned about 27% of the internet titan on Wednesday, based on Refinitiv data and the company’s portfolio tracker. Prosus and van Dijk, however, have a rock-solid balance sheet with more cash than debt, and no particular need to exit Tencent in a hurry. That’s down from its peak last year, when the share price was considerably less than half the company’s net asset value per share. Prosus, the Amsterdam-listed technology investor, on April 11 said it would deposit 96 million Tencent shares into the Hong Kong Central Clearing and Settlement System, a precursor to selling them.

☆ Why Stock-Market Tourists Flock to New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Stephen Wilmot | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Competition between European financial hubs may just hand more power to the U.S.SoftBank’s choice of New York for a listing of British microchip designer Arm has led to predictable hand-wringing about national decline in the U.K. capital. But this isn’t just about London. On Wednesday, when Bloomberg reported SoftBank’s latest plan, industrial-gas giant Linde also delisted its shares from the Frankfurt stock exchange. With a market value of $175 billion, the company was the most valuable company in Germany’s Dax index.

☆ SoftBank’s Big Loss Should Give Tech Bulls Pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ SoftBank is paying for Son’s past exuberance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Warren Buffett once advised investors to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. In other words, Son and his dealmakers spent big when valuations were unsustainably high and then retreated as prices slumped. SoftBank’s family of startup-investing vehicles, including the two Vision Funds and a Latin America-focused one, have clocked up $6.6 billion of cumulative losses on their investments since 2017. In other words, Son is out of ammunition just when it would be the most useful. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ SoftBank buyout goes from impossible to improbable
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The $74 billion Japanese investor logged earnings of $21 billion in the three months to end September after trimming its stake in Alibaba (9988.HK). It offsets some gloom as technology valuations plummet; writedowns of its punt on crypto exchange FTX will follow. Expectations that these repurchases are a prelude to a buyout have helped lift SoftBank’s shares by one quarter in the past month. But any further sales of Alibaba or other assets would give SoftBank the firepower to keep buying out minorities. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For Masayoshi Son the biggest question is not where to list Arm, but when. Son is leaning towards listing Arm in the United States, home of big tech companies like Apple (AAPL.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O). One option would be for Arm to list in London while offering American Depositary Receipts to U.S. investors. Take a selection of U.S. and European chip companies which play different roles across the supply chain: Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices , Intel (INTC.O), Rambus (RMBS.O) and ASML (ASML.AS). Son said there were also requests to list Arm in London without elaborating on where they came from.

☆ Factbox: The challenges automakers, and now Tesla, face with humanoid robots
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A "Tesla Bot" humanoid robot prototype is seen in this undated handout image. GM-NASAFrom 2007 to 2012, General Motors (GM.N) and NASA joined hands to develop humanoid robots, R2, for assembly and space exploration. NASA said its current focus is the development of next-generation humanoid robots that can be used on the lunar surface and eventually on Mars. HYUNDAI MOTOR-BOSTON DYNAMICSBoston Dynamics created internet buzz with videos of its humanoid robots running, jumping, backflipping and dancing. FORD-AGILITY ROBOTICSIn 2020, Ford (F.N) bought two humanoid robots, Digit, from Agility Robotics, to test the delivery of a package to doorstop from a delivery vehicle.

☆ Oyo will check into public markets in better shape
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of OYO, India's largest and fastest-growing hotel chain, installed on a hotel building is seen through wires in an alley in New Delhi, India, September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis - RC1364FBCAC0MUMBAI, Sept 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A recovery in travel means Oyo is set to check into public markets in better shape. The budget hotel chain founded by Ritesh Agarwal grew revenue 18% to 49 billion rupees ($615 million) in the year to March. The uplift was reported in an addendum to its draft initial public offering document first filed a year ago. Earlier Oyo was targeting a whopping $11 billion valuation, equivalent to 19 times trailing sales.

☆ New SoftBank fund risks deepening governance mess
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Who said SoftBank Group’s (9984.T) corporate governance couldn’t get any messier? The $62 billion conglomerate controlled by founder Masayoshi Son is considering opening a third version of its Vision Fund technology investment vehicle, per the Wall Street Journal. SoftBank shareholders, for their part, might prefer the company wring as much value as possible from Vision Fund 2 instead. The only good news for investors in the Japanese parent is that Vision Fund 3 would be investing, broadly speaking, at lower valuations than previous efforts, given the recent market slump. Divvying up the spoils between staff and shareholders looks messy, but it’s better than having no spoils at all.

☆ T-Mobile US transmits clear signal to investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - T-Mobile US (TMUS.O) is sending a clear signal about the benefits of being bigger. The $182 billion company announced a $14 billion share buyback program on Thursday, reflecting the fact that both profit and subscriber numbers are rising. Fears that mobile prices would rise when T-Mobile acquired SoftBank’s Sprint have not materialized, allaying at least one of the potential objections to the merger. Last quarter, it raised its forecast for additional subscribers for this year to as high as 6.3 million from a previous high of 5.8 million. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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