According to Odaily Planet Daily, people familiar with the matter revealed that Elliott Management has held a considerable stake in SoftBank Group and is pushing it to launch a $15 billion buyback plan. Elliott has accumulated shares worth more than $2 billion and has been in contact with SoftBank executives in recent months. Elliott believes that such a large-scale stock buyback will help founder Masayoshi Son convey his confidence in SoftBank to the market. The company's stock price rose 4.6% in Tokyo.

This is the second time Elliott has targeted SoftBank, once one of the world's largest and most influential technology investors. Elliott accumulated about $3 billion in shares in 2020, after which SoftBank significantly accelerated its buybacks. Elliott later sold most of its shares in SoftBank.

SoftBank, which has scaled back its bets on startups in recent years, is preparing to invest more in artificial intelligence and other areas after the value of key assets such as Arm Holdings Plc surged.