Apple Held Talks to Invest in SoftBank Technology Fund
December 12 2016 - 2:10PM
Dow Jones News
Apple Inc. has held talks about investing in a $100 billion fund
being raised by Japanese internet and telecommunications giant
SoftBank Group Corp., a move that would put Silicon Valley cash—and
cachet—into what would be the world's largest technology fund.
Apple and SoftBank have discussed an investment of up to $1
billion, according to people familiar with the matter, who
cautioned that nothing has been finalized. The status of the talks
couldn't be learned.
An Apple investment would connect the world's most valuable
company—Apple's market value is nearly $600 billion—with one of the
world's largest pools of investment capital.
The SoftBank Vision Fund, which aims to launch next year, is
targeting $100 billion and is seeded by SoftBank, one of Japan's
largest mobile-phone providers and owner of Sprint Corp. It marks
an ambitious effort by SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son to
position his company as a leader in emerging technologies like
artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, in which
everyday objects such as thermostats, watches and cars are
connected online.
By investing, Apple also would hope to gain insight on emerging
technologies, the people familiar with the matter said.
Such a move also would reflect a shift in Apple's investment
strategy, which until recently focused on small stakes in young
technology companies. Earlier this year, Apple invested $1 billion
in Didi Chuxing Technology Co., China's homegrown ride-sharing
competitor to Uber Technologies Inc. SoftBank is also an investor
in Didi.
"We're constantly looking on the outside for great talent and
great intellectual property," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said
on a conference call in July.
SoftBank itself is investing at least $25 billion in the fund
and is finalizing an investment of up to $45 billion from Saudi
Arabia's government fund. The sovereign-wealth fund of Abu Dhabi
also is weighing a large investment, according to people familiar
with the matter.
Mr. Son said last week after a meeting with President-elect
Donald Trump that he plans to invest up to $50 billion of the fund
in the U.S.
Apple and SoftBank have business ties stretching back nearly a
decade. In 2008, the companies struck a deal to make SoftBank the
exclusive iPhone seller in Japan. The partnership drove record
sales, helping to make SoftBank Japan's third-largest cellular
carrier by 2011.
Mr. Son has praised late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, whom he once
compared to Leonardo da Vinci, and remains close with Mr. Cook.
SoftBank distributes iPhones and iPads to its approximately 20,000
employees, and Mr. Son has said he rarely touches a PC.
Mr. Son also is close to Terry Gou, the head of Taiwan's Foxconn
Technology Group, which manufactures most iPhones. After his
meeting with Mr. Trump last Tuesday, Mr. Son was photographed
carrying a paper with Foxconn's logo next to SoftBank's. Earlier
this year, SoftBank bought U.K.-based microchip manufacturer ARM
Holdings PLC, a major supplier of microprocessors for the
iPhone.
Write to Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com and Tripp Mickle at
Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 12, 2016 13:55 ET (18:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
SentinelOne (NYSE:S)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
SentinelOne (NYSE:S)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024