Masayoshi Son defends investment choices, says SoftBank is not 'SoftPunku'

Sprint, which Son loaded up with debt and made repeated attempts to merge with T-Mobile before successfully closing the deal in April, has delivered an internal rate of return of 25%, Son said

SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son mounted a defence of his investing decisions on Thursday, saying the value of the Japanese conglomerate's holdings has recovered to pre-coronavirus outbreak levels.

"We have worried a lot of people who thought that SoftBank is finished or is 'SoftPunku'," Son told a shareholder meeting, using a play on the word "puncture" used colloquially in Japanese when something is broken.

The rise in corporate value was driven by the growth of SoftBank's stake is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and following the merger of its U.S. wireless unit Sprint with T-Mobile US Inc.

Sprint, which