Shuli Ren, Columnist

Sequoia and Tiger Global Take SoftBank to the Cleaners

It’s another blow to Masayoshi Son’s reputation, as the former disruptor gets a taste of his own medicine.

July 6, 2022 at 11:30 AM UTC

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

Damage control.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

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If the fiascoes at WeWork Inc. and Greensill Bank AG were not enough, Klarna Bank AB should serve as another fine reminder that SoftBank Group Corp. is the unluckiest whale in a crowded venture capital world. Founder Masayoshi Son somehow always manages to hold the worst cards.

The Sweden-based fintech, known for its buy-now-pay-later offering, is in talks to raise about $650 million — mostly from existing investors led by Sequoia Capital. If completed, this deal would reset Klarna’s valuation to $6.5 billion, a fraction of the $45.6 billion it was priced at just a year ago in a $639 million funding round led by SoftBank.