SoftBank Group senior executive Akshay Naheta in talks to leave

Akshay Naheta, a senior SoftBank Group Corp. executive who has worked on some of the company’s biggest deals, is in talks to leave the company, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Naheta, who leads SoftBank’s public equity investments, is discussing taking an advisory role at the firm to focus on his own long-only fund, the people added, who asked not to be identified because the conversations are ongoing.

The potential departure marks yet another senior exit from SoftBank’s ranks. Seven managing partners have left since March of last year, including the sole senior managing partner, Deep Nishar, who will depart by the end of this year.

A spokesperson for SoftBank declined to comment. Terms of Naheta’s departure aren’t final, and he could ultimately decide to stay, the people said.

Naheta has been involved with some of SoftBank’s biggest deals since joining the company in 2017. Some, like a $1 billion debt transaction with Wirecard AG, have been controversial. He also pitched founder Masayoshi Son on the sale of chip designer Arm Ltd. to semiconductor designer Nvidia Corp. and led a $4 billion investment in Nvidia in 2017, a bet that earned $3 billion in profit.

The senior vice president led SoftBank’s $5 billion stake in Roche Holding AG, and its investment in robotics firm AutoStore.

Naheta also helped Son set up SB Northstar, which invested in public stocks and derivatives. Son said in November that he personally lost about 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in SB Northstar. The business is now winding down.

A former trader at Deutsche Bank AG, Naheta previously started his own hedge fund, Knight Assets & Co.. Alongside his new fund, he is considering taking a minority stake in a European challenger bank, the people added.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor