In a company announcement, SoftBank said it recognised the need to separate the entities and make its two key business areas “future growth drivers”.
Group president Nikesh Arora will continue his role of COO at SoftBank Group (SBG) but has also been entrusted with overseeing global expansion and heads up operations abroad.
“The investment securities of global subsidiaries and affiliates such as Starburst Ⅰ, Inc. (a holding company that holds the shares of Sprint Corporation) and Alibaba Group Holding Limited are projected to be transferred primarily to the global operations management company from SBG,” SoftBank said.
According to reports from The Japan Times, Arora plans to invest $3 billion each year as SoftBank backs start-ups that can become the next Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company that pulled off the world’s largest IPO in 2014, which SoftBank also has a stake in.
SoftBank’s head of mobile operations in Japan, Ken Miyauchi, continues as a director of SBG and will head up all domestic businesses. From December 31, 2016, this will include its investment in Yahoo Japan.
Placement of the global and domestic operations management firms will take place this month. Transfer of shares of subsidiaries and associates from the SBG to each subsidiary will occur in phases starting from this month.
The full transfer to the two subsidiaries is expected to be completed by December 2016.
The move is dependent on shareholder approval.
