SOFTBANK Group Corp. plans to sell about US$14 billion in shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as part of an effort to raise US$41 billion to shore up its businesses battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Japanese conglomerate is considering raising the remainder of the money by selling a stake in SoftBank Corp., its domestic telecommunications arm, as well as part of its stake in Sprint Corp. following its merger with T-Mobile US Inc., said one of the sources.

The Alibaba stake sale could range from as little as US$12 billion to as much as US$15 billion, the sources said.

Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, announced the sale plans Monday in Tokyo, though he didn’t specify which assets would be sold. He’s eager to generate funds to buy back shares and slash debt to alleviate investor concerns that have shaved more than 40 percent off SoftBank’s market value since its February peak.

The firm, which also operates the US$100 billion Vision Fund, is vulnerable to economic shocks given its enormous debt load and ties to unprofitable startups. Many of Vision Fund’s biggest bets lie in what’s known as the sharing economy, which has been particularly hard hit by a virus that’s causing millions of people to stay indoors and slash travel spending.

The Alibaba stake, worth more than US$120 billion, makes up the largest chunk of SoftBank’s unrealized value. An Alibaba spokesperson didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment yesterday. SoftBank spokespeople in Tokyo and the United States declined to comment.

Part of the SoftBank asset sale proceeds would go toward a new share buyback program of as much as 2 trillion yen (US$18 billion) that comes on top of previously announced repurchases. (SD-Agencies)