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SoftBank Group Corp. plans to invest $ 900 million in burning gene sequencing company Pacific Biosciences of California Inc., as the Japanese tech conglomerate ramps up a new effort to invest in public stocks.
PacBio, as is known, produces new generation DNA sequencing systems used to research diseases and develop treatments. The investment, in the form of convertible debt, is designed to help accelerate the commercialization of the company’s technology, SoftBank and PacBio plan to announce on Wednesday.
It comes on top of a roughly 6% stake in PacBio that SoftBank had already accumulated and will give the Japanese investor significant influence over Menlo Park, California.
PacBio has a market value of $ 7.4 billion after a dramatic increase in its shares in recent months, sparked in part by a new joint venture with Invitae Corp., a medical genetics company. PacBio, whose shares have increased 11-fold since July, has also recruited new management, including a CEO.
SoftBank, better known lately for making big investments in private tech companies from a $ 100 billion fund, has reorganized, sold big stocks and bought back stocks. He also focused more on publicly traded companies. The investment in PacBio will be made through SoftBank’s recently established asset management arm, SB Northstar, which invests in listed technology companies.
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