Vision Fund 2 could get funding from Mubadala in Q4 2019
According to sources and media reports, SoftBank could see a part of the funding for its Vision Fund 2 come from Abu Dhabi state funded Mubadala Investment Company. The investment is expected in the fourth quarter for this year, as reported by Reuters.
SoftBank is still in the process of raising and finalising investment for its $108 billion Vision Fund 2. Earlier in April it reported having some trouble. However in July it announced the launch of the second Vision Fund.
Since the time of the launch SoftBank has not commented on the possibility of funds being raised from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala nor Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
However, much earlier on there were reports of both Gulf state-backed investment firms to invest in the largest tech fund.
Now sources close to the matter have told Reuters that the Mubadala and SoftBank are in talks to invest in Vision Fund 2, and that "the exact investment will be finalised in the next quarter when a commitment could be made.” Furthermore, they added that Mubadala's investment would be independent of PIF's potential participation.
Talks are continuing (between Mubadala and SoftBank) and we continue to assess the investment.Brian Lott, spokesman for Mubadala told Reuters.
While the investment returns on the first Vision Fund has been positive, recently there have been multiple reports of SoftBank losing money over Uber's stock devaluation and WeWork's impending IPO at lower rates than expected.
Mubadala invested $15 billion in the $100 billion debut Vision Fund, while Saudi's PIF contributed $45 billion, making it the largest contributor to the Fund. For the second Fund, SoftBank plans to take that title as it has already invested $38 billion and recently announced the allowance of loans up to $20 billion for SoftBank employees to Invest in the Fund, much of which could be taken by Masayoshi Son himself.
SoftBank is expecting to raise funding from the likes of Apple, Microsoft, banks as well as new investors such as the Kazakhstan sovereign fund.
Mubadala hasn't shared any details about the potential investment, implying that they could be still in talks.
It already invests bit in tech firms and is charging ahead with a strong investment agenda. At home, it is funding the likes of MidChains, going into blockchain trading assets. While abroad it has invested in leading tech firms such as AMD and Global Foundries. In total, it is expected to have $229 billion under asset management.
