Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. will acquire New York City-based Fortress Investment Group for $3.3 billion in cash, the companies announced Tuesday.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year, after which Fortress will operate within SoftBank as an independent business still headquartered in New York.
Fortress’ private equity investment portfolio has included holdings in Brookdale Senior Living, the largest owner and operator of senior living communities in the United States, and Holiday Retirement, the country’s largest private owner and operator of independent living communities. According to its website, Fortress began investing in Brookdale in 2000, took the company public in 2005 and sold its remaining stake in 2014. Fortress said it began investing in Holiday in 2007.
Pete Briger, Wes Edens and Randy Nardone will continue to lead Fortress and have committed to invest 50% of their after-tax proceeds from the transaction in Fortress-managed funds and vehicles, according to the companies. Fortress’s senior investment professionals also will remain in place.
Briger and Edens, in a joint statement, said that the agreement will create “significant value” for Fortress shareholders. “We anticipate substantial benefits for our investors and business as a whole, and we have never been more optimistic about our prospects going forward,” they said.
SoftBank Group Corp. is a holding company that is part of the SoftBank Group along with a global portfolio of telecommunications, internet services, artificial intelligence, smart robotics, internet of things and clean energy technology providers.
“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,” Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said in a statement.
