Softbank = China

Softbank is a Japanese company best known for owning Yahoo Japan and Sprint.

With their background in telecommunications and the internet, why would they want to buy a major semiconductor company? And why, with $89B in debt, is Softbank adding another $31B?

The answer: Softbank is not what they appear. What isn't as well known is that Softbank is actually a major player in China's internet economy.

For starters, they bankrolled Alibaba. They control 32% of Alibaba, and through Alibaba, they dominate the Chinese internet economy because Alibaba has invested in the top internet companies in China: Weibo, for example.

Although based in Japan, Softbank is very much a Chinese company.

The fact remains that, despite the $10B budget, China has yet to land any major companies.

Perhaps Softbank on its own is front-running a bigger China budget.

Or perhaps Softbank was tapped to be the buyer, but not the ultimate buyer. After all, who is lending them to $31B to close the deal? And Softbank will earn a lot of political credits for doing a favor for the

Chinese government effort to ramp-up a semiconductor company.
Don't be surprised if we see an announcement in a year or two that ARMH is up for sale and the buyer is a major Chinese company.

This was a brilliant move.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...-company-world