SoftBank sees a 375% return from Chinese startup Beike

In November 2019, SoftBank invested US$1.35 billion in Chinese online property site company KE Holdings Inc., also known as Beike. The company went public this August and its stock price soared through September 30. According to the Bloomberg report, the value of SoftBank’s stake in the startup was boosted to US$6.4 billion, a 375% return.

In October, the Japanese conglomerate’s founder Masayoshi Son said in a conference that Beike is “growing rapidly and posting huge profits already.”

For the full-year 2019, SoftBank recorded an operating loss of around US$13 billion, which included a US$17.7 billion loss on valuation from investments held by its Vision Fund.

But the firm is seeing a rally this year, recording a US$12 billion quarterly profit in the first quarter of 2020. SoftBank’s shares soared in October after announcing that it would sell 4.5 trillion yen (US$43.5 billion) in assets and buy back 2.5 trillion yen (US$24.2 billion) of its shares.

Its portfolio companies are making moves in the IPO market. ByteDance is looking to do an initial public offering, while WeWork is planning for a listing again after shelving its plan last year.

Since April, SoftBank has raised about US$50 billion in cash, exceeding its target of US$41 billion, according to a report by Nikkei Asian Review. Citing people familiar with the matter, it added that Son is still meeting founders through video conferencing to look for new investments.