With Alibaba stake sale, SoftBank’s Son cools towards China tech

News Snapshot:

SoftBank Group Corp’s decision to sell down its Alibaba Group Holding stake for a $34-billion gain may be aimed at shoring up cash reserves, but it also underlines how CEO Masayoshi Son has cooled on China tech . Son was formerly one of the sector’s biggest cheerleaders and Alibaba is his most famous bet, immensely profitable and for his fans, symbolic of his foresight and investing acumen. Amid a sharp market downturn, however, Son will reduce his conglomerate’s stake in Alibaba to 14.6% from 23.7% by settling prepaid forward contracts, although the Chinese firm remains SoftBank’s largest asset. “It seems...