SoftBank Set to Gain $34 Billion From Cashing Out a Third of Its Alibaba Stake

(Bloomberg) — SoftBank Group Corp. expects to post a gain of more than $34 billion from selling down its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the company said, cashing in on its most storied investment to shore up finances as global markets deteriorate.

The investment giant’s board approved Wednesday the early physical settlement of prepaid forward contracts corresponding to about 242 million of Alibaba’s American depositary receipts. After the settlement, which will run from August to September, the SoftBank stake in China’s e-commerce leader will fall to 14.6% from 23.7% as of the end of June.