SoftBank to lead US$1.2b investment in genetic-testing firm Invitae
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[TOKYO] The genetic-testing company Invitae plans to raise about US$1.2 billion from investors including SoftBank Group Corp, with an announcement planned for Monday, Dow Jones reported.
The investment will be in the form of convertible debt and is aimed at helping Invitae expand the use of its platform, the publication said. The San Francisco-based company's shares have tripled in the past 12 months and closed Thursday at US$39.19 in US trading, pushing its market valuation to US$7.7 billion.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has been expanding his investments in publicly traded companies in recent months, including in Amazon.com, Facebook and Alphabet.
The Japanese billionaire had previously set up a US$100 billion Vision Fund to invest in private startups, making bets on companies such as Didi Chuxing and DoorDash.
Bloomberg News first reported in February that SoftBank planned to expand its investments in biotech and health care. As of Dec 31, the company's public holdings included Pacific Biosciences of California, 4D Molecular Therapeutics and AbCellera Biologics.
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