SoftBank Group has launched more than $11 billion of dollar- and euro-denominated bonds as it prepares to fund the final $10 billion tranche of its latest investment in OpenAI, extending the Japanese group’s use of debt markets to finance its expanding artificial intelligence strategy.
The offering comprises $10 billion of U.S. dollar senior unsecured notes and €1 billion of euro-denominated bonds, according to a term sheet reported by Reuters. The dollar issuance is divided across 3.5-year, 5.5-year and 7.5-year maturities, while the euro portion is split between four- and six-year notes. Pricing is expected on 24 September, with settlement scheduled for 29 September. Citigroup and JPMorgan are acting as lead bookrunners.
Most of the proceeds are intended to finance SoftBank’s $10 billion third-tranche investment in OpenAI, scheduled for 1 October, with the remainder available for general corporate purposes. SoftBank agreed in February to invest an additional $30 billion in OpenAI through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, divided into three $10 billion payments in April, July and October. The investment was agreed at a $730 billion pre-money valuation.
The financing underlines the scale of SoftBank’s commitment to artificial intelligence. Before the latest $30 billion programme, the group had already invested an aggregate $34.6 billion in OpenAI through Vision Fund 2 since September 2024. Completion of the latest investment would take SoftBank’s cumulative OpenAI investment to $64.6 billion and give it an expected ownership interest of approximately 13%.
The bond transaction is also part of SoftBank’s wider move from short-term bridge borrowing towards longer-term financing. Reuters said the latest issuance will refinance a $10 billion bridge loan associated with the OpenAI payment. Separately, SoftBank announced earlier in September that it would prepay the remaining $25.9 billion outstanding under a broader $40 billion bridge facility established primarily to support its OpenAI follow-on investment. That facility had been drawn by an aggregate $30 billion.
That refinancing matters for SoftBank’s balance-sheet management because the group is simultaneously funding several major transactions. Chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto has said maintaining discipline around loan-to-value remains central to the company’s financial policy. SoftBank targets LTV below 25% under normal market conditions, with an upper threshold of 35% in extraordinary circumstances, while maintaining liquidity sufficient to cover at least two years of bond redemptions.
Alongside the remaining OpenAI investment, SoftBank expects to complete its approximately $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB’s robotics business and its $3.1 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge by the end of 2026. Goto has described financing as the procurement cost of SoftBank’s investment capital, with the group seeking equity returns from its investments that exceed its cost of debt.
SoftBank already operates with a substantial and varied debt portfolio spanning yen, dollars and euros. Its published bond schedule includes senior notes across multiple maturities, allowing the group to spread refinancing requirements rather than concentrate them in a single period. The latest issuance adds another significant layer of unsecured borrowing to that structure.
The deal provides a clear example of how very large strategic investments can move from short-term bridge finance into longer-dated capital-markets funding. The structure gives SoftBank additional time to finance its OpenAI exposure while replacing temporary borrowing with bonds carrying maturities extending beyond seven years.
It also shows how the scale of AI investment is increasingly feeding directly into corporate debt markets. SoftBank’s latest fundraising is not financing routine operating expenditure but a concentrated strategic investment in one of the world’s most highly valued private technology companies. That puts greater emphasis on funding costs, leverage management and the future contribution of OpenAI to SoftBank’s net asset value.
With pricing still to come, investor demand and the final cost of the bonds will provide another indication of how credit markets assess SoftBank’s increasingly large financial commitment to artificial intelligence.
