TOKYO (JAPAN) – SoftBank Group Corp is all set to sell US cellphone distributor Brightstar, said the group on Friday. This marks the latest sale of telecoms assets as the conglomerate keeps on adding to its cash pile.
SoftBank will sell the bleeding firm to a neo-nascent subsidiary of private equity firm Brightstar Capital Partners and it will have a 25% stake in it, the conglomerate said in a statement.
Brightstar Capital was founded by a former COO of the handset distributing firm and it has $2.1 billion (1.62 billion pounds) in assets.
This marks SoftBank’s latest move from the telecoms sector. It slashed holdings in wireless carrier SoftBank Corp to 40%.
After SoftBank’s acquisition in 2014, Brightstar’s founder and Bolivian billionaire Marcelo Claure has grown in stature to become the COO and is touted to be the successor of founder Masayoshi Son as CEO.