Softbank to hire Rajeev Misra from Fortress Investment Group

Misra will focus on acquisitions, says report

Japanese telecommunications company Softbank Corp is hiring Rajeev Misra from Fortress Investment Group , Bloomberg reported, citing people close to the matter.

Misra, a former debt-trading executive at Deutsche Bank and UBS AG , joined Fortress Investment Group LLC earlier this year.

Misra, who has not yet left Fortress, plans to relocate to either Silicon Valley or San Francisco from London and will focus on acquisitions, according to the report.

It is not immediately clear what position Misra will hold. SoftBank spokesman Matthew Nicholson declined to comment on the matter while Fortress was not immediately available for comment outside regular US business hours.

Misra will not report to Nikesh Arora, who left Google Inc earlier this year to head SoftBank's internet unit and is responsible for overseeing Web, telecommunications, media and global investment activities, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier in the month, Softbank scored a minority stake in privately held Legendary Entertainment for $250 million to form a joint venture with the Hollywood movie studio. 

Softbank also held talks to acquire Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation , although the discussions had cooled and were unlikely to lead to a deal.