SoftBank Just Cashed Out $4.8B -- Here's Where Masayoshi Son Is Putting the Money Next
SoftBank (SFTBF) has just raised $4.8 billion by selling 21.5 million shares of T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) at $224 apiece pricing at the low end of the $224$228 range and marking a 3% discount to Monday's close. It's the biggest U.S. block trade since TD Bank's $13.1 billion Schwab selloff earlier this year. T-Mobile shares dropped 3.8% in early trading, while SoftBank's U.S.-listed shares nudged up about 1%. The stake sold accounts for roughly 1.9% of T-Mobile's outstanding shares, trimming down SoftBank's holdings from 85.4 million as of March 31. Bank of America was the sole bookrunner on the deal.
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with TMUS.
This isn't just portfolio trimming it's Masayoshi Son playing long ball in AI. The SoftBank founder is reportedly eyeing up to $30 billion in OpenAI and helping bankroll Stargate, a global hyperscale data center project that could exceed $500 billion. Originally planned as a debt-heavy venture, the financing hit snags due to U.S. tariff uncertainties. Bloomberg Intelligence suggests this recent sale could shave 12 percentage points off SoftBank's loan-to-value ratio. But with Son potentially targeting $40 billion across OpenAI, Stargate, and a possible Ampere Computing deal, analysts believe SoftBank may need to raise another $10 billion to avoid slipping past a 30% LTV downgrade trigger.
SoftBank originally acquired the T-Mobile stake in 2020 through the $26.5 billion Sprint merger, then sold down significantly to fund a record stock buyback that same year. While Deutsche Telekom remains T-Mobile's largest shareholder at 59% including shares SoftBank has pledged to vote under its direction this latest exit signals another chapter in Son's playbook: recycle old wins to fund new bets. If the Stargate project and OpenAI partnership materialize as planned, this might be just the opening act in SoftBank's next AI supercycle.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Yes, more and more celebrities are entering the phone business. Here's why
NEW YORK (AP) — More and more celebrities are looking to attach their names to your phone. Or rather, wireless services that could power it. From cosmetics to snacks and signature spirits, brands launched or co-owned by high-profile figures are just about everywhere you look today. But several big names are also venturing into the market for mobile virtual network operators — or MVNOs, an industry term for businesses that provide cell coverage by leasing infrastructure from bigger, more established carriers. U.S. President Donald Trump's family was the most recent to join the list with the launch of Trump Mobile this week. Here's what to know. On Monday, The Trump Organization (currently run by the president's sons Eric and Donald Jr.) unveiled Trump Mobile. The company says this new business will offer cell service, through an apparent licensing deal with 'all three major cellular carriers' in the U.S., and sell gold phones by August. Trump Mobile marks the latest in a string of new Trump-branded offerings — which already span from golden sneakers to 'God Bless the USA' bibles — despite mounting ethical concerns that the president is profiting off his position and could distort public policy for personal gain. 'This raises a real question about a conflict of interest,' said Ben Bentzin, an associate professor of instruction at The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. As the sitting president, Trump appoints leadership for the Federal Communications Commission — and the family's new phone venture exists under this regulatory authority. All of this sets Trump Mobile apart from other big names that have recently ventured into the wireless business. Still, its launch arrives as a growing number of celebrities tap into this space. Just last week, actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett launched SmartLess Mobile, a name that mirrors the trio's 'SmartLess' podcast. Now live across the contiguous U.S. and Puerto Rico, SmartLess Mobile runs on T-Mobile's 5G Network. Another wireless provider with ties to fame is Mint Mobile. While not launched by celebrities, Ryan Reynolds purchased an ownership stake in Mint in 2019. Mint's parent, the Ka'ena Corporation, was later acquired by T-Mobile in a deal worth up to $1.35 billion. Beyond names of famous people, well-known brands that weren't traditionally in the phone business have also got in on the action over the years — particuarly outside of the U.S., Forrester Research senior analyst Octavio Garcia Granados notes. He points to Walmart's 'Bait' mobile plan in Mexico, for example, as well as Italian soccer club AC Milan launching its own mobile SIM cards for fans. 'The MVNO market is not new,' said Garcia Granados. 'What's new is the development on how it's consumed and the (ease) for brands to launch such plans.' MVNOs have also emerged outside of high-profile brands or launch teams. Bentzin points to Straight Talk and Cricket — which are now owned by Verizon and AT&T, respectively. Still, traditional celebrity endorsements are common across the board. And in recent years, 'influencer marketing' has been 'the fastest growing area of advertising and promotion,' he notes. For Trump Mobile, the pitch seems to be all about having an 'all-American service' while also tapping into the fan base of the president. The company noted Monday that it chose to unveil Trump Mobile on the 10th anniversary of Trump launching 'his historic presidential campaign.' The name given to its flagship offer, The 47 Plan, and the $47.45 monthly fee make reference to the president's two terms. And a mock-up of the planned gold phone on the company's website shows Trump's 'Make America Great' slogan on the front screen. According to the company, Trump Mobile's 47 Plan will include unlimited calls, texts and data through partner carriers, as well as free roadside assistance and telehealth services. It also says the new phone, called the 'T1 Phone,' will be available for $499 in August — but notes that this device won't be designed or made by Trump Mobile. Still, the company emphasized that these phones will be built in the U.S. Experts have since shared skepticism about that being possible in two months. And beyond the future T1 Phone, others stress that a monthly cell service fee of just under $50 is pricey compared to other MVNO options today. 'It's not actual lower pricing. It's really trading on the fan base, if you will, of Trump,' said Bentzin. SmartLess Mobile and Mint Mobile, of course, don't carry these same political ties. And the wireless plans offered by both boast less expensive offerings. T-Mobile-owned Mint advertises 'flexible, buy-in-bulk' plans that range from $15 to $30 a month. Each option includes unlimited talk and text nationwide, but vary depending on plan length and data amount. Mint, founded in 2016, says it started 'because we'd had enough of the wireless industry's games' — and promises to help consumers avoid hidden fees. SmartLess Mobile's plans also start at $15 a month. Depending on the data amount purchased, that base fee can rise to $30 — but all of its plans similarly offer unlimited talk and text using T-Mobile's network. When launching last week, SmartLess underlined that its goal is to help people stop paying for the data they don't use, noting that the majority of data used by consumers today happens over Wi-Fi. 'Seriously, if your phone bill knew how often you're on Wi-Fi, it would be embarrassed,' Hayes said in a statement for SmartLess Mobile's June 10 launch. MVNOs have proven to be attractive acquisitions to big wireless carriers over the years. But whether or not the star factor promises significant demand has yet to be seen for the market's most recent entrants. For the more established Mint Mobile, Reynolds' investment is a success story. The 25% stake that the actor reportedly owned in 2023, when the company announced that it would be acquired by T-Mobile, was estimated to give him a personal windfall of over $300 million in cash and stock. And since that deal closed, Reynolds has remained in his creative role for Mint and as the face of many campaigns — helping the brand continue to attract new customers. It's no surprise that the potential of such business returns might attract other celebrities to make similar investments, Bentzin notes. Still, newer ventures are untested. And 'as the market becomes more crowded, it could be harder and harder to pick off individual consumers,' he added. Beyond a high-profile name, quality of service and what consumers can afford is also critical. 'The competition battleground here is brand and price,' Bentzin said. Still, if the marketing is right and product meets consumer needs, experts like Garcia Granados note that MVNOs can be a profitable business, for both the brands that start them and the telecommunications giants — like T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T — offering this 'wholesale' access to their infrastructure. As a result, he said, such high-profile ventures become 'a catalyst for others to follow.' ______ AP Business Writer Bernard Condon contributed to this report from New York.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Everything, everywhere, all Firefly AI: New Adobe app launches for iPhone and Android
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Generative AI products that can create amazing images and videos indistinguishable from real ones have practically democratized photoshopping. You no longer need years of training or expensive software to create and edit any kind of image or video. Just issue commands in natural language, and the advanced AI model of your choice will deliver stunning results in seconds. You'd think these developments would directly threaten Adobe, the creator of Photoshop. But Adobe isn't backing down. Instead, the company has adapted its tools to take advantage of generative AI innovations. Products like Photoshop and Firefly already let you use AI to brainstorm and create images and videos tailored to your needs. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 Adobe isn't even trying to one-up the likes of OpenAI, Google, and other AI firms that might seem like competitors. Instead, the company is embracing those alternatives, integrating them into apps like Firefly. Just like that, Firefly can become your one-stop shop for all things photo and video creation that benefit from advanced AI tools. Adobe has just expanded the list of AI partners in the Firefly app and released iPhone and Android versions. Adobe hosted its Max event in London a few weeks ago, where it announced several big updates to Firefly, including support for high-end third-party AI models and a new Firefly Boards feature designed to help teams collaborate on AI-generated content. Adobe also confirmed at Max that iPhone and Android Firefly apps were coming soon, though it didn't share release dates. Fast-forward to June 17th, and Adobe has released the Firefly app for iPhone and Android. Along with it, Adobe announced a new partnership with third-party genAI services for generating and editing photos and videos, plus new Firefly Boards features. You can use Adobe's own models, also called Firefly, in the Firefly apps to generate photos and videos. But if you prefer something from the competition, Firefly gives you that option too. Here's the current list of partners, including the new AI models Adobe announced on Tuesday: Image Models: Black Forest Lab's Flux 1.1 Pro and Flux.1 Kontext; Ideogram's Ideogram 3.0; Google's Imagen 3 and Imagen 4; OpenAI's image generation model; Runway's Gen-4 Image Video Models: Google's Veo 2 and Veo 3; Luma AI's Ray2; Pika's text-to-video generator Of those, Ideogram, Luma, Pika, and Runway are new Adobe partners for Firefly. The Firefly app for iPhone and Android is available to download now, so you can create AI content 'wherever inspiration strikes.' The mobile app gives you quick access to tools you might already use in the desktop version of Firefly, including Generative Fill, Generative Expand, Text to Image, Text to Video, and Image to Video. Creators can choose between Adobe's Firefly models or rely on third-party frontier AI from Google and OpenAI. The Firefly mobile app lets you save your creations with your Creative Cloud account, making it easy to switch between mobile and desktop without interrupting your work. One big advantage of using the Firefly app instead of going directly to OpenAI, Google, or other genAI tools is that it brings everything together in one place. That's especially useful if you're using multiple content generation platforms for a single project. That's exactly what Adobe is aiming for. 'We built the Firefly app to be the ultimate one-stop shop for creative experimentation, where you can explore different AI models, aesthetics, and media types all in one place,' said Adobe's vice president of generative AI, Alexandru Costin. 'Every new partner model we add gives creators even more flexibility to experiment, iterate, and push their ideas further.' Adobe also addressed content safety, saying a 'durable 'nutrition label'' will be attached to everything created in the Firefly apps. This will identify whether Firefly AI or a partner model was used. It's unclear if this label will be visibly marked, though. You'll need an Adobe account and a plan to unlock all Firefly features. Access to third-party models depends on your subscription. In-app purchases include a Firefly Mobile Monthly plan ($4.99) and a Firefly Mobile Yearly plan ($49.99). Adobe also introduced new features for Firefly Boards, which debuted a few weeks ago. Firefly Boards let you generate video using either the Firefly Video model or an AI from an Adobe partner. You can also make iterative edits to images using the AI model of your choice. The feature helps organize your Boards with a single click so everything's ready for a presentation. Adobe Docs can also be linked to Boards. Don't Miss: Today's deals: Nintendo Switch games, $5 smart plugs, $150 Vizio soundbar, $100 Beats Pill speaker, more More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Remarkable new AI can tell your age by looking at your eyes
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. One of the most impressive areas of generative AI software like ChatGPT right now involves enhanced computer vision. AI can understand and interpret data from images. That's why we now have such advanced image and video generation models in ChatGPT, Gemini, Firefly, and other AI software. Models like ChatGPT o3 can accurately guess the location of an image by analyzing its details. Google offers advanced photo editing tools in its Photos app, and also directly in Gemini. These tools let you alter real photos in ways that weren't possible before. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 These image-related AI capabilities aren't just used to generate memes or melt OpenAI's servers. Researchers are developing AI models that can interpret images for various purposes, including medicine. The latest study showing such advancements comes from China. Researchers from several universities have been able to determine a person's age with high accuracy by having AI inspect an image of their retina. The readings also showed differences between the person's age and the eye's age. The researchers found that the retinal age gap the AI provided can be especially helpful for women. A simple retinal scan might help doctors offer better support to couples trying to conceive and to women at risk of early menopause. Retinal fundus imaging, or a photo of the back of the eye, lets doctors see microvascular features that reflect systemic aging. An AI trained on thousands of images can then predict the eye's age and compare it to the person's actual age to 'predict retinal age from fundus images with high precision.' The scientists used an AI called Frozen and Learning Ensemble Crossover (FLEX) to predict retinal age from fundus images. They fed FLEX over 20,000 eye photos from more than 10,000 adults of all ages to teach it how the back of the eye looks as people age. FLEX also analyzed over 2,500 images from nearly 1,300 pre-menopausal women. The AI was then able to estimate a person's age by examining a retinal fundus photo. If the eye appears older than the woman's actual age, the retinal age gap is positive. That could also mean other organs in the body are aging faster. The implications for reproductive health are clear. Fertility and menopause issues could benefit directly from such an AI screening tool. The researchers linked a larger retinal age gap to lower blood levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), a marker for ovarian reserve. The lower the AMH value, the harder it is for older women to conceive. The scientists studied women ages 40 to 50 and found that each additional retinal year raised the risk of a low AMH result. The risk increased by 12% in the 40-44 age group and by 20% in the 45-50 group for every extra retinal year. The study also found that having more childbirths at younger ages was associated with lower AMH levels than average. Each additional retinal year increased the risk of developing menopause before age 45 by 36%, according to the paper. We're still in the early days of using AI for medical imaging, but the study shows promise for using a simple, non-invasive technique to improve reproductive health protocols. Imagine getting a retinal scan in your late 20s or early 30s to help decide whether to get pregnant or freeze your eggs. Similarly, women over 40 concerned about pre-menopause or menopause could use an eye scan to check their retinal age and assess the risk of early symptoms. This might help them prepare for the years ahead with hormonal therapies to delay or ease symptoms. For any of this to happen, the conclusions from Hanpei Miao & Co. would need to be confirmed by further research. Separately, the FLEX AI model used in this study could be explored for other health conditions where eye scans might serve as early indicators of age-related health risks. The full study is available in Nature magazine. Don't Miss: Today's deals: Nintendo Switch games, $5 smart plugs, $150 Vizio soundbar, $100 Beats Pill speaker, more More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
