What's going on?

Technology conglomerate SoftBank � which promised to sell $41 billion worth of assets in March � is about land on precisely which segments it�ll get rid of.

What does this mean?

First on the chopping block could be T-Mobile US: SoftBank has owned about 25% of the firm since its long-awaited merger with rival telecoms company Sprint. And seeing as T-Mobile US is worth almost $130 billion, a sale could net SoftBank over $30 billion. That�d leave the Japanese giant with an $11 billion shortfall that it could make up by selling off, say, some of its Alibaba shares. Either way, the cash SoftBank raises will go some way to reducing the company�s debt, as well as enable it to repurchase some of its own shares � as it previously said it would.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Mortal comm-bat.

SoftBank�s core business is in telecommunications, which might be why its shares have been relatively resilient after falling dramatically earlier this year. Telecoms� earnings are pretty predictable during economic downturns, after all, largely thanks to their long contracts. Of course, by cleaving off its other telecoms investment, more of SoftBank�s overall fortunes will be determined by its venture capital Vision Fund � a potentially risky move, given that it�s recently had make job cuts to stem the business’s losses.

For markets: Weak defense.

Telecoms stocks tend to be popular among investors because of their �defensive� nature, but anyone looking for safety in T-Mobile US might be in for a nasty surprise (tweet this). If SoftBank unloads its T-Mobile US stocks publicly � by selling a �blocks� of shares on the stock market � the sudden oversupply could outstrip demand and send its share price drastically lower. Current investors are probably hoping instead for a �private placement� of T-Mobile US�s shares, which should have a smaller market effect. And SoftBank may already have its first customer: Germany�s Deutsche Telekom is reportedly interested in buying at least some of its stake�