U.S.-based private equity and asset management firm Fortress Investment Group would be bought over by Japanese Internet and telecommunication giant SoftBank Group for about $3.3 billion in cash, the Japanese group has announced..

SoftBank is better known for its typical investments into technology and telecom firms such as last year’s $23 billion acquisition of chip design powerhouse ARM and this acquisition deviates somewhat from SoftBank’s typical investments. However for at least one analyst, the move was called it a “visionary strategy” – the move to acquire Fortress, and it made sense.

The acquisition would allow the Japanese company to get world-class financial management expertise said Jesper Koll, CEO of WisdomTree Japan K.K. “SoftBank is really leapfrogging into the asset management and private equity business.”

Last year SoftBank announced SoftBank Vision Fund — its massive $100 billion technology investment fund with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the financial expertise from Fortress at their disposal could also theoretically boost that venture. Rajeev Misra, who, was previously a senior executive at Fortress and SoftBank hired him in 2014, heads the fund.

Aiming to create 50,000 jobs, SoftBank had agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S., the then President-elect Donald Trump had announced in December. However the SoftBank Vision fund is expected to provide the investments, according to reports.

The company could not comment on whether Fortress would have any role to play in it, since the SoftBank Vision Fund wasn’t yet finalized, a spokesman from SoftBank said. The company and not the SoftBank Vision Fund, would be the source of the funds required to acquire Fortress, the spokesman also clarified.

Koll implied that the Fortress acquisition is another indicator of that transformation and believes that in recent months SoftBank has completely transformed itself. “(SoftBank) is a very, very good technology company, but on top of that it actually is building a super platform for a new future,” said Koll.

The Fortress deal, along with the SoftBank Vision Fund, it will “accelerate our SoftBank 2.0 transformation strategy of bold, disciplined investment and world class execution to drive sustainable long-term growth” and will help the Japanese company expand its capabilities, SoftBank’s chairman and CEO, Masayoshi Son, said in a statement.

Fortress has investments in private equity, hedge funds and real estate among others and has $70.1 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2016. In Japan, where it bought hotels held by Lehman Brothers after the bank collapsed in 2008, Fortress also has a track record, according to Reuters.

At a a premium of 38.6 percent on the closing price on Feb. 13, 2017, Fortress shareholders will receive $8.08 per share under the agreement with SoftBank.

Fortress will operate within SoftBank as an independent business, with its headquarters in New York and will still be lead by Pete Briger, Wes Edens and Randy Nardone. According to a statement from SoftBank, senior fund managers will also remain in place.

(Adapted from CNBC)

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