SoftBank to book $34 bln gain by cutting Alibaba stake to 14.6%

SoftBank Group Corp on Wednesday said it will book an estimated gain of 4.6 trillion yen ($34.08 billion) on settling prepaid forward contracts using shares in Alibaba Group Holding, reducing its stake to 14.6% from 23.7%.

SoftBank on Monday booked a record quarterly net loss due to sliding valuations at its Vision Fund investment arm, with Chief Executive Masayoshi Son pledging to reduce investment activity further and cut costs.

The estimated gain announced on Wednesday includes 2.4 trillion yen from the revaluation of shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant and a derivative gain of 0.7 trillion yen, SoftBank said in a filing.

The transaction “will be able to eliminate concerns about future cash outflows, and furthermore, reduce costs associated with these prepaid forward contracts,” SoftBank said.

“These will further strengthen our defense against the severe market environment,” SoftBank added.