Jeong-eui Son, Chairman of Softbank Group / Photo = Reuters
Japanese Softbank Group invests 900 million dollars (about 1 trillion won) in a bio-listed company in the United States. Softbank has recently increased its interest in investing in bio companies, and it is known that it is increasing the proportion of listed companies in its investment portfolio.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 9th (local time), SoftBank will invest in Pacific Biosciences (ticker PACB) listed on the NASDAQ market. Pacific Bio is a company that studies DNA sequences necessary for the development of disease treatments. Softbank already owns a 6% stake in Pacific Bio, and this is an additional investment.
Pacific Bio’s share price surged 11 times in the US NASDAQ market in the second half of last year. As a result of the expectations for the establishment of a joint venture with the US bio company Inbitae, the current market cap of Pacific Bio has risen to $7.4 billion.
Softbank is expanding investments in listed companies through its affiliate SB North Star. The investment in Pacific Bio will also be executed by SB North Star. SB Northstar has invested in Norway’s online education and game platform Kahut and Swedish cloud company Sinchi.
WSJ cited officials and reported that Softbank is showing high interest in expanding investment in bio companies. Softbank is known to have recently executed six public stock investments by US bio companies.
Reporter Gowoon Lee [email protected]
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