The Big Picture

Vincent Boland: SoftBank’s troubles may be an ominous sign of things to come

Now that the era of cheap money that drove the success of the private equity sector is coming to an end, the billionaire Masayoshi Son may not be the only one whose fortunes are turning

Masayashi Son: no soft landing for SoftBank as it grapples with losses of $23 billion. Picture: Getty

Masayoshi Son is sorry. Ashamed, even. In a moment of very public soul-searching last week, the Japanese billionaire behind the SoftBank technology investment group told his investors – the people and institutions who own his company – that he had got things wrong.

As he unveiled a $23 billion loss at SoftBank for the first quarter of its financial year, Son looked and sounded like a man under pressure, veering between defiance and gloom as ...