Masayoshi Son may be about to pull off his signature move – doubling down. Having already invested over $1.5 billion into OpenAI, the SoftBank boss could throw another $25 billion into the artificial intelligence company, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday. Previous double dips like WeWork and Uber have yielded distinctly mixed results, but the timing of the Japanese investor’s latest gambit deserves its own level of weird. As recently as last week, OpenAI might have seemed a sensible bet. The group run by Sam Altman, which launched ChatGPT in late 2022 and touted 100 million weekly active users within a year, was in

What do butchers and authors have in common? To listen to American trustbusters, both are integral to the fight against corporate consolidation. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, led by Lina Khan, on Monday sued to block the mega-merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons. Zeroing in on the anticipated damage to workers could produce the agency’s own bestseller. There are more conventional reasons to be skeptical about the $25 billion deal unveiled in October 2022. For one thing, such combinations typically require offloading locations where there is overlap. Kroger played ball, agreeing to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers. The FTC charges,

Amazon.com’s attempts to swallow a robot vacuum maker are in danger of leaving a bigger mess. More than a year after the e-commerce giant announced a now-$1.4 billion takeover of iRobot, the European Commission has warned the tie-up could shut the door on rivals to the Roomba maker. The concerns speak to ongoing worries over Amazon’s market clout – but if the deal collapses, it’s iRobot shareholders who will suffer more downward suction. The Commission, which is reviewing the deal alongside British and American merger cops, on Monday published its objections. Top of the list is the concern that Amazon could give Roomba sales

The semiconductor industry has changed immeasurably since Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group bought Arm for $32 billion in 2016. Yet the British chip designer’s fair value may be in that same ballpark, according to a Breakingviews valuation. SoftBank said on Tuesday it was seeking an equity value of $50 billion to $54 billion as part of the roadshow for Arm’s initial public offering, factoring in shares issued to employees that are yet to vest. When the Japanese conglomerate’s boss Masayoshi Son scooped up the Cambridge-based company seven years ago, he was placing a bet on the so-called Internet of Things, the view that

The private equity firm behind Jimmy John’s just snagged another sandwich chain. Roark Capital is forking over some $10 billion to buy family-owned Subway in one of the largest restaurant deals in history. With markets opening to initial public offerings – and an earnout included in the deal that protects buyers – there’s plenty to nibble on. Getting Subway to the point of a sale was no small feat for Roark. The company was still owned by its founding family, and like any deal, such insiders can often see value differently than an unemotional buyer. The family had sought a higher valuation

General Electric operates with an existential problem: it gives big companies things they very much need, like airplane engines and power turbines, but has little control over when or how much they need them. The dynamic was a curse when planes were grounded during the pandemic, but now the winds of demand are blowing in the conglomerate’s favor. What’s good for shareholders in this case is even better for well-upholstered CEO Larry Culp. Jet engines, which made up about half of GE’s $16.7 billion in second-quarter revenue, are soaring again. Airlines’ quest to save money means they’re trying to make their flying machines last

It’s easy to see Nebraskan Warren Buffett turning into Florida man – geographically speaking more so than the irrational internet meme version. The Sunshine State’s insurance industry is a mess, and Hurricane Ian only compounded the problems. This imperfect storm suits the Berkshire Hathaway CEO’s investing style. Underwriters in the state have been feverishly trying to offload risk following last year’s Category 5 hurricane that was Florida’s deadliest in nearly 90 years. Swiss Re estimates at least $50 billion of Ian-related insured damage. At the same time, the price of reinsurance – or insurance bought by insurers – has been rising

At Walmart, boring is the new fabulous. The $390 billion retailing giant is a bellwether for consumer spending. So, it would follow that, as wallets become pinched, low growth and slim margins would be cause for concern. But Walmart benefits from being big, established, and, importantly, profitable, and the latter can’t be said for Amazon.com’s retail business. As the shine comes off of technology companies, Walmart’s failures are an afterthought. The company led by Doug McMillon warned on Tuesday that a lack of visibility into its shoppers is causing Walmart to exercise caution. U.S sales for the same set of stores is expected to

Even the best-engineered devices sputter on occasion. Consider Danaher’s well-oiled M&A machine. The $200 billion conglomerate runs acquisitions through its signature kaizen-based system, delivering improvements which churn out model returns for shareholders. When parts are spun back out, however, they run less smoothly. It’s a timely lesson as Danaher prepares to separate another division. Boss Rainer Blair is carving out the Environmental & Applied Solutions unit, which generated $4.7 billion of revenue last year from consumer packaging and water purification kit, in a tax-free transaction by the end of 2023. Although the division grew more slowly and was less profitable than the parent’s core

Masayoshi Son’s latest quirky results presentation drew on lessons from Japanese military history. Although unicorns might have been more representative of the SoftBank founder’s cavalry charges than horses, as one analyst noted, the broader point was to illustrate the cash his Japanese tech and technology company was raising to shore up defences. The question is how long before Son embarks on another bold quest for investments. Since unveiling plans in March to dispose of up to $41 billion of assets, SoftBank has been moving apace. Offloading a slug of wireless operator T-Mobile US and selling down Alibaba raised some $37 billion. SoftBank

Sometimes it’s hard to tell which Masayoshi Son loves more: new technology or creative finance. The mercurial SoftBank boss uses an abundance of the latter to fund excesses in the former. Even chastened, he is dipping into his deep well of engineering. Son conceded last month that he was “foolish” to aggressively back the now-reeling shared-office outfit WeWork. The pandemic also pushed SoftBank into a $9 billion net loss for its fiscal year ending in March and hurt its hulking Vision Fund. With some prodding from pushy hedge fund Elliott Management, the Japanese tech and telecom company is working on