SoftBank to create Japan internet rival to take on GAFA tech giants

Tokyo — Masayoshi Son, after backing start-ups around the world, is engineering a complex deal on his home turf to create a national champion that can more effectively compete with global rivals such as Google and Amazon.com.

Son’s SoftBank Group plans to combine its Yahoo Japan internet business with Line Corporation in a deal that values the country’s leading messaging service at $11.5bn. SoftBank and South Korea’s Naver will take Line private and then fold Line and Yahoo Japan into a new joint venture. The deal requires shareholder approvals and is scheduled to close by October 2020...

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