SoftBank unveils massive $21 bn IPO of Japan mobile unit

Telecoms giant SoftBank will list shares in its Japanese mobile unit next month in a sale that could raise over $21 billion and be one of the biggest tech IPOs in years.

The company said the initial public offering will take place in Tokyo on December 19 and it will offer 1.6 billion shares in its SoftBank Corp mobile unit at 1,500 yen ($13) each.

That values the mobile unit at 7.18 trillion yen, and the IPO could be Japan's biggest-ever, local media said.

The company had announced in February that it was going ahead with the IPO after media speculation about the plan.

It said the listing would give the mobile unit "greater managerial autonomy to develop its own growth strategy." Under its CEO Masayoshi Son, SoftBank has transformed from a software giant and is increasingly seen as an investment firm, ploughing funds into a broad range of companies and projects outside its core business.

Using the SoftBank Vision Fund, worth an estimated $100 billion, Son has taken stakes in some of the hottest firms in the tech sector, including Uber, Slack, WeWork and Nvidia.