Activist Fund Elliott Backs SoftBank's $4.8 Billion Buyback Plan (Reuters) (Reuters) – Activist investor Elliott Management said on Friday it supports SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) latest move to buy back up to $4.8 billion of its shares. Elliott also said SoftBank would have opportunities to pursue additional buybacks following the completion of the merger between Sprint (S.N) and T-Mobile (TMUS.O). Earlier on Friday, SoftBank announced a plan to repurchase up to 7% of its shares as the Japanese tech conglomerate's shares have tumbled by about a quarter in March.