SoftBank investors call for Nikesh Arora's dismissal; company says no

Investors have questioned Arora's track record and qualifications as president and heir-apparent to Masayoshi Son

A group of investors in Japanese mobile giant SoftBank has called on the board to dismiss president and COO Nikesh Arora, second-in-command to billionaire founder Masayoshi Son, reports Bloomberg.

The investors have sent a letter questioning Arora's track record and qualifications as president and heir-apparent to Masayoshi Son.

The investors raised questions about Arora’s role as a senior adviser to the private equity firm Silver Lake and pointed at a conflict of interest there, the Bloomberg report said.

In the letter, they criticised his allegedly “poor investment performance and a series of questionable transactions” during his tenure

However, SoftBank today hit back at the bid to unseat the former Google executive, calling the allegations unsubstantiated, reports AFP. In a statement made available to Bloomberg, Masayoshi Son said: “I have complete trust in Nikesh and one thousand percent confidence in him and know he will continue to do great things for SoftBank in the future.”

The letter was sent to SoftBank’s board on January 20 from American law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner. Bloomberg reports:

The investors are demanding that the boards at SoftBank and Sprint conduct “an internal investigation” by an independent firm. “We believe that an independent investigation will establish compelling grounds for the boards of SoftBank and Sprint to dismiss Mr. Arora from his executive and board positions.”