BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JANUARY 22, 2001 ISSUE
BUSINESS WEEK E.BIZ -- COVER STORY Softbank's Netbatsu In five years, Softbank has been transformed from an operator of publishing and retailing businesses into the most ambitious investor in Internet startups worldwide, with stakes in 600 companies. Web infrastructure Invested: $771 million Return: $2.8 billion Companies: 142 Softbank targets companies that supply basic Web technologies. It scored big with last year's IPO of telecom gear maker UTStarcom. Wireless Invested: $143 million Return: $238 million Companies: 41 Softbank is hoping to catch the mobile-Internet wave in Japan and Korea. Its Aplix.NET joint venture with Aplix Corp. will provide information via auto-navigation systems, cell phones, and PDAs. Incubators Softbank operates a small startup incubator called Hot Bank in Mountain View, Calif., with five tenants, and another Hot Bank in Boulder, Colo., which has three tenants. It plans on running other incubators around the world. The idea is to provide upstarts with low-cost facilities and locate them near Softbank partners. Portals and Content Invested: $484 million Return: $15 billion Companies: 155 Softbank's 21% share in Yahoo! is worth more than $3 billion. Other investments in this cluster: E-Loan, for online loans, Morningstar, for mutual fund tracking. Consumer e-commerce Invested: $924 million Return: $1.4 billion Companies: 108 It's sitting on major paper losses from its U.S. investments in e-tailers such as buy.com and Webvan. But E*Trade, the online stock trading company, now ranks No. 2 in the United States and No. 3 Japan. The Japan Project Son aims to build the Net economy in Japan. He helped create Nasdaq Japan so startups can raise money more easily. Softbank's got a dozen partnerships with U.S. companies there. It has about 85% of Japan's Web traffic. The Funds Softbank has poured $4 billion into startups through venture funds established around the world. Along with contributions from outside investors, the total amount it invested totals $8.8 billion. It hopes to invest another $4 billion to boost its portfolio to 800 companies over three years. Business-to-Business e-commerce Invested: $484 million Return: $612 million Companies: 140 Softbank announced a major link with software-maker Ariba to launch a business-to-business platform for Japanese companies to buy and sell goods. Some 30 major blue-chip companies such as Hitachi are joining in. SOURCE: SOFTBANK, GOLDMAN SACHS, BW _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS The Last True Believer TABLE: Softbank's Netbatsu TABLE: Softbank's Dealmakers CHART: Softbank's Cash Flow TABLE: Softbank Has Plenty of Cash Available... TABLE: ...And Its Operating Performance Is Improving Land of the Rising Son ONLINE EXTRA: Son: "It's Still Just the Beginning" INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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