SoftBank’s Investment Fund Dumps Entire USD 3.6 Billion Stake In Nvidia

Nvidia suffered another setback after SoftBank’s Vision Fund disclosed it had sold its entire stake, worth more than $3 billion, in the company in January.

In its third-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, SoftBank said its fund, which invests in technology ventures, had “disposed of its entire holding of Nvidia shares.” The position was valued at $3.63 billion as of December 31.

The disclosure is another blow for Silicon Valley-based Nvidia, which has seen its share price nearly slashed in half in the past four months. Last week, Nvidia cut its revenue guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter citing “deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly in China.”

Nvidia is part of a growing list of chip stocks warning about weakness in the world’s second-largest economy, as well as global demand for smartphones. In January, Apple issued a rare cut in its revenue guidance citing weak demand from Chinese consumers.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund revealed its investment in Nvidia in May 2017. The Vision Fund, which is backed by investments from SoftBank as well as Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, launched in 2017 with more than $90 billion in the capital. Its other investments include Uber Technologies, WeWork and British chip designer ARM.

SoftBank shares closed slightly higher on Wednesday after the firm reported a 60 percent rise in quarterly profits and a $5.5 billion share buyback program. Nvidia shares were up 1.5 percent as U.S. markets opened Wednesday.―CNBC