Investing in SoftBank a bet on Masayoshi Son's deal-making prowess

There's no doubt that Masayoshi Son has made some of the most profitable bets in the history of the tech industry

For most of its existence, SoftBank was known as a Japanese phone company that made some lucky bets. But in the future, being an investor in the company will mean betting on the investment prowess of its founder, Masayoshi Son.

Over the past few months, SoftBank has moved to drastically shrink itself. In April, it struck a deal to combine Sprint, which it controls, with T-Mobile, reducing its share of the embattled American carrier’s financial burden. It announced plans this week to spin out its domestic telecom business.

If those deals go through, what will be left of the company is essentially