Tokyo: The successor-in-waiting at SoftBank said on Wednesday he would buy a whopping $483 million in company shares, after his move to the Japanese mobile carrier from Google.
Nikesh Arora, who left a high-profile post at the Internet search giant last year, said he would buy 60 billion yen ($483 million) worth of SoftBank stock over the next six months.
He was named president and chief operating officer in June as a potential successor to chief executive Masayoshi Son, who led the firm`s $21.6 billion takeover of US mobile giant Sprint in 2013.
I have "decided to take a personal bet on the SoftBank Group", Arora said in a statement.
"This is a large transaction for me, and involves taking an enormous risk in my life once again. However, I am extremely confident about the future of the SoftBank Group".
Son said he was "delighted" at the commitment.
"I expect him to succeed me at the appropriate time," SoftBank`s top executive said.
"The last year of working together could not have gone better and it has surpassed every expectation that I had."
According to local media, SoftBank paid Arora an eye-popping $135 million in the fiscal year to March, including a one-time signing bonus, that put him among the world`s highest-paid executives.