SoftBank Group Corp. Monday posted a $23.1 billion investment loss in its Vision Fund unit in the April-June quarter after a decline in the value of its assets, including closely monitored privately held holdings, amid market turmoil. .
SoftBank had recorded a record loss at its Vision Fund unit in May as market volatility from rising interest rates and political instability hit the tech investor.
SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, who will speak at a results briefing beginning at 4:30 PM (0730 GMT), has pledged to tighten investment criteria and conserve cash to weather the downturn.
In the quarter ended June, robotics company AutoStore Holdings Ltd and artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group Inc. declining listed investments.
SoftBank said it has written off the value of unlisted assets in its two Vision Funds by 1.14 trillion yen ($8.43 billion). Analysts have said write-offs on these private assets are unlikely to reflect the magnitude of the current market weakness.
The second Vision Fund’s holdings in 269 companies totaled $37.2 billion at the end of June, compared to an acquisition price of $48.2 billion.
Falling IPO volumes and the market’s skepticism about money-losing startups have squeezed a major source of capital for SoftBank, which hopes to get chip designer Arm on the list after the collapse of a sale to Nvidia.
To raise money, SoftBank has exited companies, including ridehailer Uber Technologies and home-selling platform Opendoor Technologies, for total profits of $5.6 billion.
SoftBank sold Uber at an average price of $41.47, compared to Friday’s closing price of $32.01.
The sell-off also hit hedge fund Tiger Global, which competes with Softbank’s “unicorn hunter” CEO Son on deals and saw its flagship fund plunge 50% in the first half of the year after underestimating the impact of rising inflation on the markets.
Berkshire Hathaway posted a $44 billion quarterly loss on its investments and derivatives, with Chief Executive Warren Buffett urging investors to ignore the fluctuations.
SoftBank’s sliding portfolio pushed it to a net loss of 3.16 trillion yen in the last quarter. That compares with a profit of 761.5 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
($1 = 135,2600 yen)