SoftBank’s Troubles Deepen With Warning of $16.7 Billion Writedown

SoftBank’s Troubles Deepen With Warning of $16.7 Billion Writedown

TOKYO - SoftBank warned investors on Monday that the value of its technology fund may have dropped by as much as $16.7 billion over the last fiscal year, as its investments have been hit hard by the fallout from the coronavirus and by big bets on unprofitable companies like WeWork.. While the loss will be partially offset by revenue from SoftBank's other businesses, the company said it expected to end the year with a ¥1.35 trillion loss, its first annual loss in 15 years.. The disclosure marked another stumble for SoftBank, which upended the start-up investment world when it began the Vision Fund in 2017 but has lately been struggling.. But cracks began showing last year when Uber went public at a much lower valuation than expected .. In November, Masayoshi Son, SoftBank's founder and chief executive, said the Vision Fund would not offer bailouts to any more of its investments.. In March, SoftBank's bet on the satellite start-up OneWeb went sour when the company announced it had filed for bankruptcy and planned to sell itself.. Some of SoftBank's investments, like the food delivery company DoorDash , have found their services in higher demand