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SoftBank CEO says ‘unicorns’ fell into ‘valley of the coronavirus’

By
Noah Manskar and
Thornton McEnery
Published May 18, 2020
Updated May 18, 2020, 8:30 p.m. ET

The coronavirus is claiming some of SoftBank’s “unicorns” as casualties — and its billionaire CEO used a fantasy-driven slide presentation to illustrate the problem.

The Japanese investment giant reported an $18 billion loss for its Vision Fund Monday after its pricey “unicorns” like Uber and WeWork fell into what CEO Masayoshi Son called “the valley of the coronavirus.”

Son predicted that some of his prized unicorns — tech startups that have been valued at more than $1 billion — will make it to the other side of the “unprecedented” crisis even though it has caused their sales to drop and hurt their cash flow. He made his point during a slideshow with an image of a lone winged unicorn soaring over a deep hole while two wingless unicorns tumble down into it.

The largest portfolio companies “have a relatively good chance of passing through the valley of the coronavirus,” Son said during a Monday earnings presentation. “The exception is WeWork.”

In another bizarre aside, Son reportedly compared himself to Jesus Christ during a question-and-answer session with analysts on Monday. Pressed on whether his management decisions were to blame for SoftBank’s $18 billion loss, Son reminded investors that “Jesus was also misunderstood and criticized,” according to the Financial Times (paywall).

Son has a history of making wild statements. In 2016, he publicly shelved his long-planned retirement by announcing to the press that he would be staying on for five more years to prepare for the moment when robots became self-aware.

Hits to the Vision Fund’s stakes in ride-hailing giant Uber and troubled office-sharing startup WeWork accounted for roughly $9.7 billion of its losses for the fiscal year that ended March 31.

Another $7.5 billion was linked to other firms in the Vision Fund portfolio, which includes DoorDash, Slack and TikTok parent ByteDance. All told, the value of the fund’s $75 billion worth of investments in 88 companies has dropped to $69.6 billion, SoftBank said.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son argued that some "unicorn" companies in which his firm has invested will make it through the coronavirus crisis.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son argued that some “unicorn” companies in which his firm has invested will make it through the coronavirus crisis.SoftBank

SoftBank warned of the bleeding earlier this month after it backed away from a $3 billion tender offer to rescue WeWork, a move that drew a lawsuit from WeWork’s board. SoftBank also booked an impairment loss on the value of its WeWork investment outside of the Vision Fund.

SoftBank has also taken a beating from its stake in Uber, which posted a $3 billion loss in the first quarter and laid off some 3,700 employees as the pandemic caused its core ride-hailing business to plunge more than 80 percent.

SoftBank plans to raise 1.25 trillion yen (about $11.6 billion) against its investment in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, whose founder Jack Ma is leaving SoftBank’s board. American hedge fund Elliott Management has been pressuring SoftBank to buy back shares and improve corporate governance.

With Post wires