Soft in the head?

Lucid analysis here of why Betfair's recent announcement that Japan's Softbank is to take a 23 per cent stake in the betting exchange operator raises questions despite the enormity of the Japanese betting market:

"I don't believe that betfair has a future as a brand/product for mainstream punters, and would do better to co-opt betdaq's period strategy (as later co-opted by betdaq partner betandwin) to be a bookie behind-the-scenes trading platform that skilled punters themselves can go directly use if they're up to it. All of this begs the question of "what do betfair strategists and SoftBank know that us yokels don't". On the surface, the price paid by SB is nuts."

According to Legal Week, Softbank's "£13-a-share offer is thought to represent a return of 130-times capital to ground-level investors" in Betfair.