SoftBank Is Said to Hire 10 Mainly From Goldman for Investments

(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. plans to hire about 10 people to boost its in-house investment capabilities, primarily from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to people familiar with the situation.

The additions will come from banking, private equity, consulting and, in at least one case, the medical profession, said the people, asking not to be named because the matter is private. They will join in April and May to work in Tokyo and London, they said.

SoftBank hired Katsunori Sago, a former deputy president at Goldman Sachs, as chief strategy officer in June 2018, and Hiroki Kimoto, an 18 year veteran of the Wall Street bank, joined in January to lead a newly created investment unit. The firm has been looking for people to expand its investment business since then. The group will be separate from SoftBank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, though they may collaborate on deals.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group, with a market of about 12 trillion yen ($108 billion), has about 200 employees in its holding company. SoftBank will continue to hire people to inject money into artificial intelligence companies and purchase real estate, vehicles, logistics and solar panels.

SoftBank has received more than 100 applications from people working at financial institutions to join the firm since January, according to the people. Representatives at SoftBank declined to comment.

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