How SoftBank's American House of Cards Collapsed
Getting Greensill to finance construction startup Katerra may have seemed like a good idea. But the downfall of one sealed the demise of the other.
An idea that didn’t catch on
Photo credit: Katerra
Three months after the collapse of Greensill Capital, a second SoftBank Group Corp. Vision Fund unicorn, Katerra Inc., has filed for bankruptcy. Court filings show how the U.S. construction startup became dependent on Greensill for financing and how the British finance firm’s insolvency pushed Katerra over the edge too.
In total the implosion of this reckless pair has torched about $4 billion of SoftBank investors’ money. There may be more fallout. Credit Suisse Group AG has cut ties with SoftBank and is considering suing the Japanese company to recoup $440 million in client funds that Greensill leant Katerra, according to the Financial Times.