SoftBank Corp share price down, keeps its stake in Alibaba, Sprint turns to a new marketing campaign

The Japanese telecoms group Softbank Corp. owns stakes in more than 1 300 other companies. The largest investment made by Mr. Masayoshi Son, who is the head of Softbank, dates from 2000 and amounts to 20 million dollars.

The acquisition in question is the purchase of a 36.7% stake in Alibaba, which could be worth about 44 billion dollars later in 2014, when the companys initial public offering will be held. The event is considered to likely be the worlds largest initial public offering.

However, according to the financial reports of the company, the stake held by Sprints parent company in Alibaba is a relatively small part of SoftBanks overall earnings as it contributed less than 3% of the companys net income in the period from April to December 2013.

The general manager for finance of SoftBank – Yoshimitsu Goto – commented for the Financial Times: “Alibaba is among the most important companies in our group, so our plan is to hold the stake for a long period of time.”

At the same time, Sprint revealed a new marketing campaign, which looks pretty much like the one used by SoftBank in Japan. The marketing campaign in question included a talking dog as the head of a bizarre Japanese family, which is quite similar to the one featured in the new ads of Sprint.

This step comes at a time when Chief Executive Officer Son has expressed his concern about the companys marketing strategy. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, according to three people who were present at a meeting in October 2013, Mr. Son, who is also Chairman of Sprint, was quite critical to the entire marketing strategy of Sprint and even suggested it to sack its advertising agencies.

As a result, Sprint has decided to work in cooperation with a new company named Figliulo&Partners.

Softbank Corp. fell by 3.18% in Tokyo to close the session at 8 088 yen, marking a one-year change of +108.45%. The company is valued at 10.03 trillion yen. According to the Financial Times, the 12 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Softbank Corp. have a median target of 9 900 yen, with a high estimate of 11 400 yen and a low estimate of 7 150 yen. The median estimate represents an 18.51% increase from the previous close of 8 354 yen.

Sprint Corp. rose by 0.66% on Monday in New York to $9.11 per share. According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Sprint Corp. have a median target of $7.50, with a high estimate of $10.50 and a low estimate of $5.00. The median estimate represents a -17.67% decrease from the last price of $9.11.