SoftBank opts for rare EB in $9bn Alibaba sale

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has wrapped up a landmark $8.9bn sell-down in Alibaba Group Holdings through a combination of five separate transactions, including raising $5.5bn via the sale of mandatory exchangeable trust securities (METS). The size of the METS is impressive, making it the largest equity-linked deal globally since 2010, but it also came with a structure almost never seen before in Asia. Jonathan Breen reports.