SoftBank’s Misra steps down as corporate officer on record loss

Rajeev Misra

SoftBank Group Corp. said Rajeev Misra is stepping down from his roles as a corporate officer and executive vice president, after a slide in technology stocks resulted in a record loss at the Japanese investment group.

The 60-year-old will retain his post as head of SoftBank Investment Advisers, which helps oversee the first Vision Fund’s existing investments, SoftBank said in a statement on Wednesday. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has said he will take over the management of new investments under the second Vision Fund.

A key lieutenant to Son, Misra is stepping back from his main roles at SoftBank and has secured more than $6 billion to launch his own fund, Bloomberg News reported last month.

Misra helped Son set up the initial Vision Fund with almost $100 billion in 2017, transforming SoftBank into the world’s largest technology investor. The Japanese billionaire, after successful early bets on companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., poured money into an array of startups in the US, China, India and other countries in his hunt for the next big hit.

But Softbank’s investments soured, most notably in WeWork and China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. After five years of deploying more than $140 billion, the company reported a record 3.2 trillion yen ($23 billion) loss for the company in the quarter ended in June.