SoftBank to gain $34 billion from cutting Alibaba stake

SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday it would book a gain of $34.1 billion by cutting its stake in Alibaba Group Holding, as the investment behemoth looks to shore up its cash reserve to weather the market downturn.

The Japanese company will reduce its stake in Alibaba to 14.6 per cent from 23.7 per cent by settling prepaid forward contracts. Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares were down 1.3 per cent in early trade.

SoftBank booked a $50 billion loss at its Vision Fund investment arm in the first half of the year as its tech bets soured, with Chief Executive Masayoshi Son on Monday pledging to further reduce investment activity and cut costs.