First round of investment to close for Softbank tech fund

New York

SOFTBANK Group Corp is aiming to close the first round of investment in its planned US$100 billion technology fund by the end of February, giving CEO Masayoshi Son an enormous war chest to go on the hunt for deals, according to people familiar with the matter.

The initial investments will likely include US$45 billion from Saudi Arabia and US$25 billion from SoftBank, as well as US$1 billion each from Apple Inc, Qualcomm Inc and Oracle Corp chairman Larry Ellison, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Co may join the first round, though it could also wait until a later time, they said.