SoftBank Vision Funds record $3.86 billion investment loss in H1 

During H1, SVF's gross performance since inception was $14.8 billion in gains for Vision Fund 1 and $20.7 billion in loss for Vision Fund 2

SoftBank Vision Funds (SVF) suffered an investment loss of $3.86 billion (excluding gains on bets in subsidiaries) in the six months ended September, owing to lower share prices of its listed portfolio companies and a decrease in the fair values of its private portfolio companies.

SVF registered an investment loss of $3.7 billion in the September quarter, which was a large improvement from its $9.5 billion loss in the corresponding quarter of last year, but substantially worse than its $86 million in the June quarter of this year.

At a segmental level, SVF recorded a $1.2 billion gain on investments which included gains associated with SVF’s investments in Arm and other subsidiaries of the SoftBank group.

The Japanese tech investor said that it received proceeds of $5.12 billion in the recent initial public offering of chip major Arm as it sold a 10 percent stake in the company.

To be sure, no gain on the disposal is recorded in the consolidated statement of profit or loss of SoftBank Group Corp as Arm continues to be a subsidiary of the company even after the share sale in the IPO.

However, in the consolidated statement of financial position, ¥674.4 billion ($4.65 billion), which represents the gain on disposal, was recorded as capital surplus.

It also received proceeds totaling $1.97 billion from sales of investments by SVF in portfolio companies and raised $4.39 billion through prepaid forward contracts using Alibaba shares during the period.

During H1, SVF's gross performance since inception was $14.8 billion in gains for Vision Fund 1 and $20.7 billion in loss for Vision Fund 2.

(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)