Rajeev Misra set to leave SoftBank; group clocks profits from successful Indian IPOs

Rajeev Misra, the top dealmaker at SoftBank, is stepping down from his leadership roles at the Japanese fund’s flagship investment vehicles. The announcement marks the end of Misra’s influential tenure, during which he steered the $100 billion Vision Fund through its crest and troughs.

Alex Clavel will assume the role of sole chief executive officer at SoftBank Investment Advisers (SBIA) and SoftBank Global Advisers (SBGA) following Misra’s departure. Misra will hold no operational or management role at SoftBank, according to the announcement. Clavel has been co-CEO of SBIA until now. Misra, according to a source, will be an advisor to SoftBank and its founder Masayoshi Son. They may also explore doing joint investments in new companies.

The Japanese group on Tuesday also reported a nearly $8 billion profit for the July-September quarter, the highest in over two years, largely due to successful IPOs by Indian portfolio firms FirstCry and Ola Electric.


While the financials are as of September, Ola Electric’s stock has faced a downturn amid consumer complaints, rising competition from traditional scooter makers entering the EV sector and other factors. Ola Electric shares ended Tuesday trading at Rs 74.27 on the BSE, close to the IPO price of Rs 76, but down from a high of over Rs 157 they had hit a few days after the listing. FirstCry, which sells baby and mother care products, listed with a 40% premium to the issue price of Rs 465. On Tuesday, its shares closed at Rs 532.25 on the BSE.

One of SoftBank’s major investments, Swiggy, is set to list on the bourses on Wednesday in a $1.3 billion IPO.

Besides these IPOs, SoftBank also liquidated stakes worth close to $2 billion over the past few years in private and public investments.

The value of SoftBank’s stake in Didi Global of China and South Korea’s Coupang also rose during the quarter amid a market recovery.

In an interview with ET on October 22, Clavel said India is among SoftBank’s top-performing markets following a wave of portfolio firms going public. “India is the world’s most successful IPO market of 2024,” he said, adding that other markets, including the US, have not seen as many IPOs, even outside of tech.

A decade at SoftBank

Misra, 62, played a critical role in raising the $100 billion Vision Fund, the largest pool of private capital that disrupted technology investing globally. His transition follows his decision in August 2022 to step back from his roles of CEO and executive vice-president of the SoftBank Group to launch his new venture, One Investment Management, with a corpus of around $7 billion, which is expected to make both debt and equity deals.

Since then, Misra has been managing only legacy investments from the first edition of SoftBank Vision Fund. “His key role is over (at SoftBank),” said chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto during the earnings call on Tuesday, marking the official end to Misra’s 10-year tenure with the Japanese investment giant. “He will no longer play a central role or be a member of management. That relationship will not continue,” added Goto.

Misra, a finance veteran with stints at Deutsche Bank and UBS AG, led the Vision Fund since its inception in 2017. The fund gained prominence with investments in high-profile, loss-making startups at aggressive valuations. Its portfolio includes Uber, WeWork and Didi Global, among hundreds of others. In India, it backed companies such as Flipkart, Delhivery, Meesho and Icertis.