软银终止收购数据中心运营商Switch谈判 孙正义“星门”雄心遇挫

Core Viewpoint - SoftBank Group has terminated negotiations to acquire US data center operator Switch, which significantly impacts founder Masayoshi Son's ambitions for the "Stargate" AI infrastructure plan [1][9]. Group 1: Acquisition Negotiations - The acquisition, valued at approximately $50 billion, was seen as crucial for SoftBank to control an energy-efficient data center network to support the $500 billion "Stargate" plan, particularly for partner OpenAI [1][10]. - Masayoshi Son acknowledged the failure of the full acquisition plan earlier this month and canceled the scheduled announcement for January, although discussions for partial investment or partnership are ongoing [2][10]. - Following the news, SoftBank's stock fell by 6.5% during afternoon trading in Tokyo [2]. Group 2: Market Analysis - Analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence noted that the termination of the acquisition negotiations has left SoftBank's data center plans in a stalemate, with few announcements related to the "Stargate" initiative [3][11]. - They believe that strategic investments or partnerships will not provide the operational control that a full acquisition would have offered, limiting SoftBank's penetration in semiconductor and AI sectors [3][11]. Group 3: Financial and Strategic Pressures - SoftBank has been increasing its investments in AI but has fallen behind in the global race for hardware supporting machine learning, with funds primarily flowing to leading chip manufacturers like NVIDIA and TSMC [6][14]. - In the past year, SoftBank acquired an 11% stake in OpenAI and invested $22.5 billion in the company, along with a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing and a $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics business [6][16]. - To raise funds, SoftBank has reduced its stake in T-Mobile US, liquidated its entire NVIDIA holdings, and increased margin loans using its Arm shares as collateral [6][16]. Group 4: Internal and External Challenges - Internal concerns exist regarding the scale of the acquisition and logistical difficulties associated with operating large data center campuses spanning from Las Vegas to Atlanta [7][15]. - Switch is also preparing for an IPO, with its investors considering a valuation of approximately $60 billion, including debt [7][15]. - Any acquisition would face strict scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) [7][15].