In brief: SoftBank’s Son recalls how he missed out on $260b Amazon stake

• SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, famous for his early investment in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, also had the chance to own a big stake in its US rival Amazon.
• Speaking at the Milken Institute conference in Tokyo, he said he was close to striking a deal to acquire 30 percent of Amazon in its early years. Son offered US$100 million, but Amazon founder Jeff Bezos insisted on US$130 million. “I just didn’t have enough cash,” Son said.
• Amazon’s market value is now more than US$860 billion, meaning that Son’s stake would’ve been worth about US$260 billion. SoftBank’s Alibaba stake is worth about US$132 billion.

Source: Bloomberg