SoftBank to Buy Back Up to 400 Billion Yen of Shares

Min Jeong Lee, Bloomberg News

Pedestrians in front of a SoftBank Corp. store at night in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. SoftBank Group Corp. might see a return to investment losses when it reports earnings on Monday, as the impact of China’s regulatory crackdown begins to hit valuations in its Vision Fund portfolio. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. said it will buy back up to 400 billion yen of its own shares, seeking to give its stock support after it reported a record 3.16 trillion yen ($23.4 billion) net loss.

The Japanese conglomerate has increasingly turned to repurchasing its own shares after suffering declines in the value of its investments. The company last said in November that it would buy back up to 1 trillion yen of its shares.

Founder Masayoshi Son has struggled as the global tech market hit a sharp downturn, forcing him to write down the value of companies in his portfolio. The company recorded losses due to key public holdings like Uber Technologies Inc., SenseTime Group Ltd. and Coupang Inc. SoftBank exited its position in Uber in last quarter.

Son’s defensive turn has protected its stock, with shares up about 5% this year.