SoftBank Looks To Raise $10B To Bolster Vision Fund

SoftBank‘s first Vision Fund is now looking to grow larger, seeking another $10 billion to help portfolio companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic and its various complications, according to a report by Bloomberg.

SoftBank is speaking with investors about an additional $5 million infusion into the fund, which the company itself would then match, according to sources knowledgeable about the matter, Bloomberg reported.

The idea may not go through since Middle Eastern investors like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., which have made up Vision Fund’s biggest backers, are in dire straits due to falling oil prices in the region.

The Vision Fund had spent $80.5 billion on the project, of the $98.6 billion total as of Dec. 31.

With some of the remaining cash, the fund intends to pay back a coupon attached to the Saudi arrangement. The new capital would go toward bolstering businesses and entities that have seen their revenues ravaged by the virus, sources said.

The company is also looking at the viability of the 88 companies in the first Vision Fund, as many of them may not have the capital to survive the pandemic for more than a year.

Some of the fund’s largest investments have been hit hard, such as Uber shares being cut in half, although that is partly because some of its services are banned in certain locations.

Others, like DoorDash, might end up better off as people around the globe stay home more often and have to rely on food delivery services like its own.

Representatives from SoftBank and SoftBank Investment Advisors, which manages the Vision Fund, declined to comment.

The coronavirus has caused widespread instability and chaos amid the finance and banking sectors of the world, with corporate customers tapping credit lines and businesses unsure how they’ll continue to make ends meet.