Elliott sheds SoftBank stake as investor grapples with tech rout
Hedge fund Elliott Management has reportedly offloaded almost its entire stake in SoftBank as the Japanese investment giant grapples with a market downturn this year.
The notorious US activist investor, which was revealed to have built a stake in SoftBank in February 2020, sold off the majority of its stake in the firm earlier this year amid growing disquiet at the firm’s heavy losses and the performance of chief Masayoshi Son the Financial Times reported.
Sources cited by the newspaper said Elliott decided to shed its stake after losing faith in boss Masayoshi Son’s ability to narrow the gap between its market capitalisation and the value of its investments, which have plunged in value in recent months amid a global rout in technology firms.
The reports come just one week after the investor revealed it had booked a $23bn loss in the second quarter as its tech-heavy holding were battered by the downturn.
Son said last week he was “ashamed” by his focus on the hefty profits of previous investments and was now pushing through a programme of rigorous cost-cutting in SoftBank’s Vision Funds in a bid to stem the loss.
SoftBank also exited its stake in Chinese tech giant Alibaba last week for a $34bn gain.
Elliott has been contacted for comment.