Deals

Masayoshi Son’s Flipkart Fail—and Other Bungled Deal Announcements

Masayoshi Son gestures while speaking during a news conference in Tokyo, on May 9. 

Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg
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Masayoshi Son’s early reveal of a Walmart Inc. deal on Wednesday isn’t the first accidental M&A announcement. But it might be the biggest.

Softbank Group Corp.’s chief executive officer told a roomful of reporters and investors that the retailer had sealed a deal for Flipkart Group, hours before the $16 billion transaction was officially announcedBloomberg Terminal.