Softbank soars to record high after new deals
TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) - Shares in Japan's aggressive Internet investor Softbank Corp
surged to a record high on Monday as its recent string of investment ventures in Internet and
technology firms fuelled market interest.
Softbank's share price hit an all-time high of 28,500 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, up by its
limit of 2,000 yen or 7.55 percent.
On Friday, OptiMark Technologies Inc, a privately held firm that runs an electronic stock
trading system, said it will get a $100 million investment from Softbank.
Softbank also struck deals with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and France's Vivendi on Thursday to launch new U.S. Internet
companies on the global stage. "Investors are aggressively seeking companies with profit potential, especially as overall market
sentiment is improving," said Kokichi Kumagae, senior manager at New Japan Securities Co Ltd.
Traders said Softbank, a leading issue in Japan's nascent Internet business, was attracting investors who expect the local
market to experience the kind of Internet stock fever seen in the United States.
Many traders said they could not see a specific resistance level for Softbank's share price.
But some analysts, calculating from the combined value of Softbank's net assets and its latent profits in stock holdings, including
those in unlisted firms, say the true value of the Softbank shares should be somewhere around 19,000 yen.
Shares in Softbank have more than tripled this year as the firm and its president and entrepreneurial founder Masayoshi Son
made headline after headline, building up an Internet empire through high-profile ventures.
Softbank also surprised the market with a plan to team up with the Nasdaq stock market of the United States to create a sister
electronic trading system here, dubbed Nasdaq Japan.
Originally started as a computer software distributor, Softbank has aggressively expanded and now holds stakes in more than
100 Internet-related firms in Japan and the United States.
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