SoftBank Corp buys $514 million majority stake in car software firm Cubic Telecom

SoftBank Corp will invest roughly 473 million euros to take a 51 per cent equity stake in Cubic Telecom which will give the Dublin-based connected-vehicle technology provider greater access to Asian automakers. The Japanese telecommunications arm of tech investment giant SoftBank Group and Cubic "will form a strategic global partnership to pioneer the future of software-defined connected vehicles", the two companies said on Tuesday.

The deal gives Cubic a valuation of over 900 million euros.

"In line with our 'Beyond Japan' strategic growth initiative, we are extremely pleased to be teaming up with Cubic Telecom to make a full-fledged entry into the fast-growing market for ... connectivity," SoftBank Corp CEO Junichi Miyakawa said in a statement.

Barry Napier will remain as CEO and a board member of Cubic Telecom after the investment closes.

SoftBank will gain three seats on the board, while three more seats will continue to be held by existing shareholders, including Volkswagen software unit Cariad and Qualcomm.

More cars are becoming connected and this will increase exponentially with the transition to electric vehicles. EVs are essentially computers on wheels - which has given rise to the industry term "software-defined vehicle" - that automakers can upgrade wirelessly.