Elliott Management has rebuilt a substantial stake in SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY) (OTCPK:SFTBF) and is pushing the Japanese tech conglomerate, founded by Masayoshi Son, to launch a $15B share buyback, the Financial Times reported.
Elliott, founded by Paul Singer, has a stake of more than $2B and has engaged directly with SoftBank’s (OTCPK:SFTBY) (OTCPK:SFTBF) senior management over the past two to three months, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The US-based activist fund is also pushing for $15B worth of share buybacks, which it believes would deliver an immediate boost to SoftBank’s share price and act as a sign of Son’s confidence in his strategy.
This marks the second time that Elliott has targeted Son’s company. The firm’s last investment in SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY) (OTCPK:SFTBF) involved building a stake of about $2.5B in early 2020, while pressing for a $20B share buyback and governance changes, the report added.
After a self-declared period in “defence mode”, SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY) (OTCPK:SFTBF) wants to use its “strong balance sheet and billions of cash on hand” in pursuit of artificial intelligence deals.
The company’s current growth strategy is built around a roughly 90% stake in U.K. chip designer Arm (ARM), which went public last year and is reportedly planning to launch AI chips by 2025.
