Son Quietly Ups SoftBank Stake to 34%, Edging Toward Buyout
- Buybacks in last two months lifted the founder’s holding
- Buyout would lower regulatory checks on startup investor
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Masayoshi Son has quietly tightened his grip on SoftBank Group Corp. during a tumultuous market downturn, edging closer to the point where he could bid to take the world’s largest technology investor private.
The billionaire now owns more than a third of the company he founded, after aggressive buybacks in the last two months reduced SoftBank’s outstanding stock by almost 90 million. Son’s stake in the company rose to 34.2% from 32.2% as of end-September, according to Bloomberg calculations based on company filings. That’s up from 26.7% as recently as March 2019.