Editing SoftBank Group (section)

===Founding and early years===
SoftBank was founded in September 1981 as SOFTBANK Corp by then-24-year-old [[Masayoshi Son]], initially as a software distributor. The company entered the publishing business in May 1982 with the launches of the Oh! PC and Oh! MZ magazines, about [[NEC]] and [[Sharp Corporation|Sharp]] computers respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1992 |title=Japanese-Style Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Softbank'S CEO, Masayoshi Son |journal=Harvard Business Review |url=https://hbr.org/1992/01/japanese-style-entrepreneurship-an-interview-with-softbanks-ceo-masayoshi-son|last1=Webber |first1=Alan M. }}</ref> Oh!PC had a circulation of 140,000 copies by 1989.<ref name="technobuffalo.com">{{Cite web |date=27 October 2013 |title=Japan's Big Three Carriers Explained - SoftBank |url=https://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/10/27/japans-big-three-carriers-explained-softbank/}}</ref> It would go on to become Japan's largest publisher of computer and technology magazines and trade shows.

In 1994, the company went [[public]], valued at $3 billion.<ref name="technobuffalo.com" /> In September 1995, SoftBank agreed to purchase US-based [[Ziff Davis]] publishing for $2.1 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Bloomberg Business News |title=Softbank Agrees to Buy Ziff-Davis PC Magazine Group |newspaper=The New York Times |date=10 November 1995 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/10/business/softbank-agrees-to-buy-ziff-davis-pc-magazine-group.html}}</ref>