SoftBank is changing the tech landscape by investing massive amounts of money in startups. Increasingly, that money is coming with more strings attached.
As it deploys its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund, the investing giant is negotiating deal terms that can go to great lengths to protect its returns and give it greater control over key decisions at companies, according to a review of public documents related to 16 of SoftBank’s U.S. tech investments and people familiar with some of the deals. The strict terms, most of which haven’t been previously reported, can cut into the value of other investors’ shares.
