Soft Bank Vision Fund 2 to receive investment from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala
Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi owned state fund, is looking to invest in SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 in fall 2019. The Fund will be focusing on technology projects.
The Japanese group is aiming to attract big investment funds including the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia and Mubadala in the UAE for its Vision Fund 2.
The first Vision fund amassed $100 billion with the Public Investment Fund and Mubadala contributing to nearly two thirds to the fund. Mubadala reportedly contributed $15 billion, whilst Public Investment Fund contributed $45 billion.
Talks for the investment in the second fund have been in place for months and currently, the Japanese investment group has secured pledges for $108 billion. Once again, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia are poised to be the leading financiers of the project. The hefty sums keep mounting from Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom reinforces its commitment to diversify from its heavy reliance on oil as part of Vision 2030.
The healthy returns from the first fund have motivated Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to recommit investments to Vision Fund 2. Last month, Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said that the key investors from the first fund, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were showing ‘high interest’ in taking a bigger piece of the pie for the second fund and in this regard, officials representing key stakeholders have been meeting over the past few months to discuss the particulars of the investment.
Reliable details about the contributions by each party have yet to be disclosed from the ensuing discussions. Brian Lott, spokesman for Mubadala said that the talks are ongoing between Mubadala and SoftBank and soon a conclusion on the investment assessment will be drawn forth. It is noteworthy that Mubadala continues to discuss its potential investment with SoftBank independent of the Public Investment Fund’s participation.
The recent investment trends continue to suggest that Abu Dhabi is unrelenting on its commitment to invest big bucks in information technology and innovation. These key areas are at the heart of the country’s economic diversification strategy.
It is anticipated that SoftBank will commit approximately $38 billion into Vision Fund 2. It has signed a memorandum of understanding with various technology giants including Apple and Taiwan’s Foxconn. Many other potential Japanese banks and technology groups have also shown keen interest and have been actively pursuing SoftBank for talks to strike a deal for potential investment.