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I wouldn't touch anything Softbank has touched: Aswath Damodaran
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I wouldn't touch anything Softbank has touched: Aswath Damodaran
Sep 18, 2023 12:41 AM

Valuation guru Aswath Damodaran said he wouldn’t touch anything that Softbank has touched, highlighting the disappointment over Softbank’s portfolio that has suffered heavily in the last few years.

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“I'm not sure I want to touch anything that Softbank has already touched,” said Damodaran, Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, speaking to CNBC. “One thing we've learned over the last three or four years is that Softbank doesn't have a soft touch when it comes to building businesses. So I would want to avoid whatever soft bank tells me to buy.”

Damodaran was speaking following the listing of Arm Holdings, which soared almost 25 percent above its Nasdaq debut price on Thursday, valuing the company at $65 billion.

SoftBank retains a 90.6 percent stake in Arm following the IPO.

Damodaran’s comments also highlight the plight of companies where Softbank has invested in India. Some of the listed companies that count Softbank as its shareholder are Paytm (One 97 Communications), Zomato, Policybazaar (PB Fintech), and Delhivery. None of these companies have made money for investors after listing. Though, of late, they have seen some recovery thanks to progress on the path to profitability.

The fair value of SoftBank's ownership in these entities increased by $544 million between January 1 and June 30, according to data compiled by Moneycontrol from the investment conglomerate’s latest filings. In fact, the fair value of SoftBank's stake rose remarkably by approximately $400 million over the span of three months to June, the data showed.

Softbank has recently started offloading stake in Paytm and Zomato in a gradual manner to make the most of the rise in stock prices.

Also Read: Softbank earns $4.4 billion from Arm's debut on Nasdaq — its stake is now worth nearly $62 billion

SoftBank, a prolific investor in India, has not participated in a single deal in the country this year, even though it is its third-largest market after the US and China. In an interview with Moneycontrol in July, Rajeev Misra, CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said India is the best-performing market for the Japanese investor. However, he acknowledged that the country’s market was overestimated.

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