SoftBank Group

AI Investment · Debt Markets · Conglomerate

Funding

SoftBank launches $11B+ bond sale to fund next $10B OpenAI payment

The high-yield offering ranks among the largest junk bond deals ever, deepening a debt-fueled bet on artificial intelligence.

• SoftBank Group launched $10 billion of dollar notes and €1 billion of euro notes on Sept 21, 2026, with pricing expected Sept 24 and settlement Sept 29.
• SoftBank Group is Masayoshi Son's Japanese conglomerate, which has become one of the world's largest AI investors through its stake-building in OpenAI.
• Proceeds fund SoftBank's $10B payment due Oct. 1 for the third tranche of a $30B follow-on OpenAI investment agreed in February at a $730B pre-money valuation.
• The dollar notes span 3.5-, 5.5- and 7.5-year tenors and the euro notes 4- and 6-year tenors; Citigroup and JPMorgan are lead bookrunners.
• The bonds will refinance a $10B bridge loan SoftBank had used to bridge the OpenAI payment, shifting the debt onto longer-term footing.
• The deal would rank among the biggest junk bond offerings ever, and would push SoftBank's cumulative OpenAI commitment to roughly $64.6 billion for about 13% ownership.
• SoftBank's financial fortunes are increasingly tied to its ability to monetize the OpenAI stake, putting it at the center of debt-fueled AI bets just as industry safety concerns intensify.