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SoftBank Sells $41 Billion In Assets To Finance More Stock Buybacks
SoftBank's shift from long-term 'vision' to short-term 'survival' is now complete.
After the infamous string of blowups that hammered both SoftBank's private investments as well as its $100 billion 'Vision Fund', which consisted mostly of money from the Saudis and Abu Dhabi most notoriously the collapse of the WeWork IPO as the unicorn's valuation evaporated, triggering the ouster of its founder-CEO, a string of other executives, and a sudden spiral that ended with an emergency rescue package that narrowly saved WeWork from imminent bankruptcy.
Now, under pressure from activist Paul Singer's Elliott Management and a handful of other investors, and with the reputation of Chairman Masa Son likely forever tarnished, it appears SoftBank is taking direct steps to shore up its plunging stock price via - what else? - share buybacks. his, at a time when companies, particularly American companies, are facing tremendous public backlash against plans to buyback stock, which has even gotten tangled up in the battle over the second part of the White House's economic plan.
Mirroring, in an ironic way, the forced deleveraging of Chinese conglomerates like Anbang, HNA & Dalian Wanda, SoftBank announced on Monday that it would start selling off some of the crown jewels, including some of its stake in Alibaba, to shore up its balance sheet and prop up its share price.
The company earmarked up to $18 billion for share buybacks, and another $23 billion to redeem debt and build up cash reserves on Monday, two weeks after announcing share buybacks of roughly $4.5 billion. The move would allow SoftBank to repurchase up to 45% of its shares outstanding, and the planned buyback is more than twice the size of the $20 billion or so that Elliott had pushed for.
The action "reflects the firm and unwavering confidence we have in our business," Son said.
The company is also hoping to pull $3 billion of rescue capital from WeWork, claiming that investigations into WeWork allow SoftBank to pull the funds.
Though most of the money will be used for stock buy backs, some will go down to pay the company's massive $173 billion debt pile (though more than half of that debt sits on the books of SoftBank subsidiaries).
SoftBank’s debtholders are getting restive as well. On a consolidated basis, SoftBank had about ¥19 trillion yen ($173 billion) in debt as of the end of last year, although more than half was held by subsidiaries like Sprint, which SoftBank said it wasn’t on the hook for.
-Soon after SoftBank announced its first share buyback on March 12, credit rater S&P Global downgraded the company’s outlook to negative, saying the move raised questions about SoftBank’s commitment to financial soundness. In recent days, as global credit markets have tanked, the prices of some of SoftBank’s bonds plummeted as well, while the price of a financial instrument offering protection against potential bankruptcy, known as a credit default swap, rose.
SoftBank also said it has hired an outside firm to search for three new independent directors to improve transparency and governance.
But given Masa Son's reputation, and his still-formidable fortune and reputation, we can't help but wonder if all of this is merely a ruse, as Masa Son, irritated by the encroachment of activists, prepares a long-shot bid to try and take the company - or at least a scaled-back version of the company a la Rupert Murdoch's new Fox News - private.
It's really his only option if he ever hopes to run SoftBank with the level of autonomy he enjoyed before the WeWork fiasco.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/softbank-sells-41-billion-assets-finance-more-stock-buybacks
Asia stocks rally, Fed launches limitless QE against economic reality
Current Asian Index numbers are in Cap#2. Gold continues to rally touching $1591.xx before settling down Cap#3- +34.40 +2.22% . Silver is also following on it's gains from our market today- +0.72 +5.39% Oil-Cap#4 looks like a big 'ole head and shoulders top and working on that right shoulder now. Dollar Index is cooling off-Cap#5 and down -0.86 -0.84% and is trading on the low's of the session so far.
Asian stocks rallied on Tuesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s sweeping pledge to spend whatever it took to stabilize the financial system eased debt market pressures, even if it could not offset the immediate economic hit of the coronavirus. The numbers were certainly large, with analysts estimating the package could make $4 trillion or more in loans to non-financial firms. The Fed’s package helped calm nerves in bond markets where yields on two-year Treasuries hit their lowest sine 2013, while 10-year yields dropped back sharply to 0.77% US10YT=RR. Yet analysts fear it will do little to offset the near-term economic damage done by mass lockdowns and layoffs.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Index opened with a sharp rise on Tuesday, up more than 800 points from Monday due to buybacks from foreign hedge funds. At one point in the opening hour it touched 17,745.25, up 5%. Resource and real estate stocks increased. Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 countries have discussed responses to the coronavirus pandemic. They held an emergency teleconference on Monday. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda participated. Aso later told reporters that the G20 countries are seriously concerned about the impact the pandemic is having on markets and economies, and the "humanitarian tragedy" it is creating.
Japan to spend over 15 trillion yen as virus hits economy, BOJ eyes more steps. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge of “huge” stimulus will involve spending of at least 15 trillion yen ($137 billion) financed in part by deficit-covering bonds, sources say, joining global efforts to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic. While the amount of debt issuance is likely be modest, it will put considerable market focus on Japan’s dire fiscal position–at a time the market rout caused by the outbreak is prodding investors to dump even safe-haven assets like government bonds in favor of cash. “We need to come up with big, powerful economic and fiscal measures that meets the enormous magnitude of the hit from the coronavirus outbreak,” Abe told parliament on Monday. “Depending on the situation, we’ll take measures that exceed in scale those taken after the Lehman crisis,” he said.
Speculation is mounting data due on Thursday will show U.S. jobless claims rose an eye-watering 1 million last week, with forecasts ranging as high as 4 million. A range of flash surveys on European and U.S. manufacturing for March are due later on Tuesday and are expected to show deep declines into recessionary territory. While governments around the globe are launching ever-larger fiscal stimulus packages, the latest U.S. effort remains stalled in the Senate as Democrats said it contained too little money for hospitals and not enough limits on funds for big business.
The logjam combined with the stimulus splash from the Fed to take a little of the shine off the U.S. dollar, though it remains in demand as a global store of liquidity.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asia-stocks-rally-fed-launches-limitless-qe-against-economic-reality-idUSKBN21A3ZN
https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary?region=asia
https://www.macrotrends.net/2566/crude-oil-prices-today-live-chart
https://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13238315
0O00000 Dornier C-146 Transport that left Eglin a bit ago wandered over Gainsville Regional Airport and now off to the NW
0O00000=operators active
yes it was for goal line technology-debut at world cup.
from the start..using the AZAZ0909 and AZAZO909 callsigns these are live operations taking place.
only when they are substituted and stand out. as to say if it "should" be an 0 but is a O and vice-versa-that is the marker. Seen this for almost 2 years. Of course we will know all of it later. Almost 100% certain this is the case after observing it for a long time