SoftBank to book $34b gain from Alibaba shares

SoftBank Group Corp on Wednesday said it will book an estimated gain of 4.6 trillion yen ($34.08 billion) on settling prepaid forward contracts using shares in Alibaba Group Holding, reducing its stake to 14.6 per cent from 23.7 per cent.

The estimate includes gains from the revaluation of shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant and derivative gains, SoftBank said in a filing.

The transaction "will be able to eliminate concerns about future cash outflows, and furthermore, reduce costs associated with these prepaid forward contracts," SoftBank said.