SoftBank is stuck in a "big winter snowstorm," founder and CEO Masayoshi Son said Monday, after a sweeping tech crackdown in China battered some of the Japanese company's key investments. SoftBank on Monday posted a loss of 397 billion yen ($3.5 billion) for the July-to-September quarter. Son said that the company's net asset value — which he says is a better indication of the firm's performance — fell by 6 trillion yen ($54.3 billion) to $187 billion.
The reason for the hit? "In one word: Alibaba," said Son, during an earnings presentation which he opened with a picture of a blizzard.
Alibaba was long the crown jewel of SoftBank's investment portfolio, and Son and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma are close friends. The Japanese entrepreneur invested $20 million in Alibaba over 20 years ago, turning that bet into one that was worth $60 billion when Alibaba went public in 2014.
