SoftBank’s Largest Deals in Latin America Are Still to Come

(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. has no plans to slow down its multibillion-dollar foray into Latin America.

After investing between 6 billion reais ($1.5 billion) and 10 billion reais in 19 firms in the region in 2019, the Tokyo-based firm is planning on potentially making fewer but larger deals in the new year, SoftBank Group International managing partner Andre Maciel told reporters in Sao Paulo.

“We haven’t made the largest transactions we have in mind yet,” Maciel said. He declined to give the exact amount invested so far since some of the transactions have yet to become public.

Some of SoftBank’s investments include the Colombia-based delivery startup Rappi and Mexican payments fintech Clip. In Brazil, it has invested in logistics platform Loggi, fitness startup Gympass and digital bank Banco Inter SA, among others. The Japanese technology giant launched a fund dedicated to venture capital investments in Latin America earlier this year.

The firm’s expansion in Latin America has been overseen by SoftBank Group International’s chief executive officer, Marcelo Claure, who was also recently appointed WeWork’s new executive chairman. Maciel, a 17-year veteran of JPMorgan Chase & Co., is one of Claure’s three lieutenants in the region, and the only one based in Sao Paulo.

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