Why Did SoftBank Sell So Many Shares of Coupang?
SoftBank's (OTC: SFTB.Y) Vision Fund owned a 37% stake in Coupang (NYSE: CPNG) at the time of its IPO in March. The Japanese conglomerate's investment arm had accumulated that massive stake in the South Korean e-commerce leader over the previous six years.
SoftBank's investment initially seemed to pay off. Coupang's stock opened at $63.50 per share on its first day of trading, far above its IPO price of $35, and hit an intraday high of $69 before closing at $49.25. However, the stock subsequently slid below its IPO price amid concerns about its post-pandemic slowdown, ongoing losses, and murky expansion plans.
Today, Coupang's stock trades in the high $20s, but remains a divisive investment. Last month, SoftBank sold a whopping 57 million shares of Coupang at an average price of $29.69 per share for total proceeds of $1.69 billion. SoftBank still owns 568.2 million shares following the sale, but that massive divestment at a 15% discount to its IPO price should raise some bright red flags.
Source Fool.com
