SoftBank Shuffles Latin American Fund Team to Report to Misra

(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. has given responsibility for its Latin American funds to Rajeev Misra, who as CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers, oversees its behemoth Vision Fund, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The SoftBank Latin America Fund and SoftBank Latin America Fund II now fall under Misra's purview, the people said, asking not to be named discussing the restructuring. SoftBank has committed some $8 billion across those vehicles.

The change comes after the January departure of Chief Operating Officer and SoftBank Group International Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Claure, who was responsible for the Latin American fund. His exit ended a tumultuous tenure capped by a clash over compensation with founder Masayoshi Son. The firm said at the time that Michel Combes would take over Claure's responsibilities.

The team leading Latin American fund investments remains the same, including managing investment partners Paulo Passoni and Shu Nyatta, and operating partner and head of Brazil, Alex Szapiro. Hired by Claure, they will all report to Misra, according to the people.

A SoftBank representative declined to comment.

Claure advocated for a spinoff of the Latin American investment fund he had overseen for SoftBank, Bloomberg reported last year. Claure argued the spinoff would help build the business and create value, while boosting his compensation, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Son saw little benefit to shareholders and thought a spinoff would complicate management and governance, the people said. The Latin American venture isn't as high-profile as SoftBank's mammoth Vision Fund, but it has about 150 employees and invests in 80 companies, with a stake in about 75% of the region's unicorns. It aims to invest $2 billion this year.

After Claure left, SoftBank said SGI's chief strategy officer, Nicola Calicchio, also had left the firm to pursue personal projects.