Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to invest up to $15bn in SoftBank fund

Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment Company is planning to invest up to $15bn in SoftBank’s Vision Fund, according to reports.

Bloomberg quoted Ibrahim Ajami, head of venture capital at Mubadala Capital, as confirming the investment and stating the fund would be wrapped up in two or three weeks with about $95bn of commitments.

“This is a significant opportunity for good financial returns,” Ajami said, according to the publication.

“Our priority is financial return, if you look at his [SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s] track record over the past 30 years, what he’s been able to achieve in technology, no other investor has.”

The Financial Times previously reported in March that Mubadala had requested SoftBank include a stake in US chip designer Arm in the fund to secure its backing.

Read: SoftBank plans Arm stake sale to secure Abu Dhabi backing for $100bn fund

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has also committed as much as $45bn to the fund.

Seperately, Ajami also said Mubadala planned to start two new venture capital funds to build its technology holdings with investments in companies in the $1m to $10m revenue range.

Mubadala will run one fund with the other to be managed externally, he added.

The newly formed Mubadala Investment Company officially launched earlier this month after Mubadala Development Company’s merger with International Petroleum Investment Company in January.

Read: With $125bn in assets, Mubadala Investment Company begins operations

The combined firm has around $125bn in assets including full ownership of US semiconductor maker Globalfoundries and a stake in Advanced Micro Devices.