New market chatter for a slow Friday afternoon. ETF Daily News reported Japan-based technology firm Softbank could make a takeover offer on the microblogging company.
From ETF Daily News
At first glance, SoftBank wouldn’t appear to be a likely suitor. Its headquarters being in Japan creates obvious geographical and cultural issues, and the company’s focus on telecom isn’t a great fit for Twitter.
However, SoftBank just recently partnered with Saudi Arabia to create a $25 billion tech fund, which can grow to $100 billion over the next five years. SoftBank also has a big recent history of major tech investments.
From the WSJ:
SoftBank, led by chief executive Masayoshi Son, is known for its bold and wide-ranging bets, ranging from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Corp. to U.K. chip designer ARM Holdings PLC, which it bought last month for $32 billion. On Friday, it announced plans to invest at least $25 billion over the next five years through a fund dubbed the SoftBank Vision Fund.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund may contribute an additional $45 billion over the next five years as the fund’s lead partner, SoftBank said. SoftBank said in a statement that the company was in talks with “a few large global investors” who could eventually push the new fund up to $100 billion to become the world’s “biggest investor” in technology over the next decade.
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Here’s a look at $TWTR shares since inception:
