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$1B for European Net tyros
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March 8, 2000: 6:11 a.m. ET
Japanese tech investor Softbank to expand, fund U.K., European start-ups
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Japanese Internet investment house Softbank unveiled plans Wednesday to spend $1 billion to develop start-up technology companies in Britain and continental Europe.
"We believe there is enormous potential for entrepreneurial Internet ventures in key European markets," said Masayoshi Son, Softbank's president and chief executive.
Softbank, which is the largest individual shareholder in global Internet firms such as Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), E*Trade (EGRP: Research, Estimates) and ZDNet, already has a series of European joint ventures with France's Vivendi (PEX) and with News Corp. (NWS: Research, Estimates)-controlled partners.
In its new wave of investment Softbank said it will earmark $450 million earmarked for the United Kingdom and $550 million for young Internet companies across mainland Europe.
The new funds, Softbank U.K. Ventures and Softbank Europe Ventures, will be aimed at developing local Internet firms in the two regions. The aim of Softbank's e-partners and @viso, its venture with Vivendi, which intend to bring Internet brands already established in the United States and elsewhere to Britain and the Continent.
Softbank's move to expand beyond its home turf reflects the growing influence of the Internet across Europe. The company said it expects the number of Internet users in Europe to reach 150 million by 2003, while e-commerce revenues are expected to surge 80-fold from the 1998 level to $430 billion a year over the same time frame.
The two new funds, which will have offices in London, Paris and Munich, are expected to announce their first investments within the next few months. 
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Softbank
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