SoftBank Group To Sell U.S. Cellphone Distributor Brightstar In Latest Asset Sale

The move comes on the heels of an announcement in late August it was cutting its stake in wireless unit SoftBank Corp, followed by news this week it was selling chip designer Arm to Nvidia Corp.

SoftBank was exploring a Brightstar sale to shed lower-growth businesses in 2018, people familiar with the matter told Reuters at the time. Brightstar could be valued at more than $1 billion, the people said.

SoftBank Group Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has been selling core assets to stabilise its balance sheet and pay for its repurchase programme to bolster its shares.

Even so, SoftBank executives, frustrated at the group’s share performance, have held early stage talks about taking the Japanese technology group private, a source has told Reuters.