Softbank gets $11 billion from selling just part of its huge Alibaba stake

SoftBank Group Corp. will book a pretax profit of 1.2 trillion yen ($11.1 billion) for selling part of its stake in Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., completing a deal announced three years ago.

Masayoshi Son’s investment giant said Tuesday it had fulfilled a deal unveiled in 2016, delivering 73 million American Depositary Shares in the online mall operator as agreed to under a forward sale contract. SoftBank, Alibaba’s biggest shareholder, was selling shares in the Chinese company for the first time in 16 years as it looked to strengthen its balance sheet and step up investments in startups.

Son opted for the extremely complex transaction — rather than, say, just selling Alibaba shares — so that he could retain some upside if the stock rose while realizing gains. The deal was part of broader move to sell assets, including stakes in Supercell Oy and GungHo Online Entertainment Inc.