Shareholders write to SoftBank questioning COO's track record

Nikesh Arora, COO and President of SoftBank is in the eye of a controversy. In a letter to SoftBank's board, an American law firm representing unidentified shareholders of SoftBank, have questioned his track record, reports CNBC-TV18.

The letter has also alleged conflict of interest arising out of Arora's existing role as an advisor to private equity firm Silverlake.

Investors in the letter allegedly questioned Arora's poor investment performance and a series of questionable investments. The law firm in its letter says despite these issues the SoftBank board saw fit to make Arora the third highest paid executive in the world without any track record of accomplishment at the company.

Investors are demanding that the board at SoftBank and sprint conduct an internal investigation by an independent firm.

The investor letter reportedly sites two specific deals to highlight Arora's "lacklustre" track record. One, SoftBank's investment in online video site Dramafever and the other investment in housing.com.

Softbank has denied the allegations. Masayoshi Son, chairman & chief executive officer of SoftBank has said, "i have complete trust in Nikesh and one thousand percent confidence in him and know he will continue to do great things for SoftBank in the future."

"I take my fiduciary responsibilities seriously and have acted appropriately and in the best interest of shareholders throughout my tenure at SoftBank and sprint, just as i have conducted myself throughout my professional life. I am completely confident the allegations in the letter are baseless."

Arora joined SoftBank in 2014 after his high profile exit from Google. Masayoshi Son, SoftBank founder had called Arora a possible successor. Last August, he bought SoftBank stock worth USD 483 million at that time. SoftBank has invested in several Indian start-ups including Snapdeal.com, Grofers, OYO rooms.