SoftBank backs Steven Mnuchin's $2.5 billion private equity fund

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, December 2, 2020. Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) -SoftBank Group will invest in a $2.5 billion private equity fund set up by former U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, the Japanese conglomerate said on Wednesday without disclosing the size of the investment.

The fund, Liberty Strategic Capital, will be backed by SoftBank's $40 billion second Vision Fund and Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, which said it will contribute roughly 2% of the total amount raised so far.

Liberty Strategic Capital was launched this year and is based in Israel, according to startup data platform PitchBook https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/469990-18#overview.

The Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/24da1d88-8e63-4868-849f-3e3ecff1c39a had earlier reported that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will also take part in the investment.

PIF did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment, while Reuters could not immediately reach out to Liberty Strategic Capital.

Bloomberg News, which first reported about the Mnuchin fundraising this week, said https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-20/trump-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin-raises-2-5-billion-fund?sref=SCAzRb9t most of the backing came from Middle Eastern investors including the PIF.

(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru, Davide Barbuscia in Dubai and Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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