SoftBank is acquiring Fortress Investment Group for $3.3bn

In a bid to broaden its business strategy, and its portfolio of investments, Japan’s SoftBank has announced that it is buying asset manager, the Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion in cash. The investment group has significant holdings in Lyft, ZestFinance, Xapo, Jawbone and other tech companies.

SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son said that it would run the business independently, led by existing Fortress principals Pete Briger, Wes Edens and Randy Nardone, but that it would also be working “alongside” the Vision Fund.

Fortress and SoftBank aren’t new to each other. SoftBank’s new investment endeavor, Vision Fund is run by Rajeev Misra, who joined SoftBank from Fortress.

“Fortress’s excellent track record speaks for itself, and we look forward to benefiting from its leadership, broad-based expertise and world-class investment platform,” said Son in a statement. “For SoftBank, this opportunity will immediately help expand our group capabilities, and, alongside our soon-to-be-established SoftBank Vision Fund platform, will accelerate our SoftBank 2.0 transformation strategy of bold, disciplined investment and world-class execution to drive sustainable long-term growth.”

“We are very pleased to announce an agreement setting our business on a great path forward as part of SoftBank, while creating significant value for our shareholders. We join a company with tremendous scale and resources, and a culture completely aligned with our focus on performance, service and innovation.

We anticipate substantial benefits for our investors and business as a whole, and we have never been more optimistic about our prospects going forward,” said Fortress co-chairmen Pete Briger and Wes Edens in a statement.