SoftBank Group has set the terms for approximately $11.1 billion in foreign-currency senior notes to help fund the final $10 billion tranche of its OpenAI investment.
SoftBank’s September 24 announcement covers three U.S. dollar tranches and two euro tranches. The notes are expected to be issued on September 29, 2026, through overseas securities markets, primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia, excluding Japan.
Notes
Principal amount
Interest rate
Maturity
USD senior notes due 2030
$1.0 billion
8.625% per year
April 1, 2030
USD senior notes due 2032
$4.5 billion
9.250% per year
April 1, 2032
USD senior notes due 2034
$4.5 billion
9.750% per year
April 1, 2034
EUR senior notes due 2030
€500 million
7.125% per year
October 1, 2030
EUR senior notes due 2032
€500 million
8.000% per year
October 1, 2032
The notes are unsecured and have no guarantee. SoftBank said the notes received BB+ ratings from S&P Global Ratings Japan and Fitch Ratings Japan, placing the transaction in high-yield territory.
The OpenAI link
The bond sale is directly tied to SoftBank’s OpenAI financing plan. On February 27, 2026, SoftBank announced a definitive agreement to make $30 billion in follow-on investments in OpenAI through SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The investment was structured as three $10 billion tranches, with closings planned for April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2026.
SoftBank said in February that completion of the follow-on investment would bring its cumulative OpenAI investment to $64.6 billion and represent an ownership interest of approximately 13%, subject to customary closing conditions.
The first $10 billion tranche was executed on April 1, and the second $10 billion tranche was executed on July 1. The new bond sale is intended to fund the third $10 billion payment, expected on October 1, with remaining proceeds marked for general corporate purposes.
SoftBank is replacing bridge financing
The financing also closes part of a bridge-loan chapter that began earlier this year. On March 27, SoftBank entered into a $40 billion bridge facility agreement arranged primarily for the OpenAI follow-on investment and general corporate purposes.
On September 9, SoftBank said it had decided to prepay the full $25.9 billion outstanding balance under that bridge facility on September 15. In the September 24 bond announcement, SoftBank said it expected to cancel the remaining $10 billion of undrawn capacity under the same facility.
That sequence shows how SoftBank is moving from short-term bridge borrowing into longer-dated debt as it finishes the OpenAI follow-on investment. It also puts more of the company’s AI strategy into the credit market, where investors are being paid far higher coupons than SoftBank paid on some earlier bond sales.
Why the bond terms are getting scrutiny
The rates are the clearest signal in the deal. Reuters reported that a $7.3 billion SoftBank senior bond sale in June 2021 carried yields between 2.125% and 5.25%. The new U.S. dollar notes carry interest rates between 8.625% and 9.75%.
High-yield debt does not automatically point to distress, but it does show that lenders are demanding a richer return while SoftBank increases exposure to private AI assets. The unsecured structure matters as well. Since the notes have no collateral and no guarantee, bondholders are relying on SoftBank’s broader balance sheet and investment portfolio rather than a specific asset pledged to the issue.
SoftBank has said its financial policies remain unchanged, including managing loan-to-value below 25% under normal market conditions, with an upper threshold of 35% in emergencies. It has also said it secures a cash position sufficient to cover bond redemptions for at least the next two years.
The AI finance signal
SoftBank’s bond sale shows how the AI funding race is spreading beyond venture rounds, cloud infrastructure budgets, and equity market enthusiasm. AI financing is now drawing heavily on debt markets, including the high-yield market.
Reuters reported that the deal follows other major bond sales from large tech firms such as Amazon and Alphabet, as companies seek capital for AI-related investments. SoftBank’s case is different because the proceeds are tied closely to a concentrated investment in OpenAI rather than a broad internal cloud or data center budget.
For the tech sector, the transaction raises a question that will keep coming back as AI spending grows: how much debt are investors willing to absorb to fund the next stage of AI expansion?
What to watch next
The near-term markers are straightforward. SoftBank’s notes are expected to issue on September 29, and the final $10 billion OpenAI tranche is expected to close on October 1. After that, attention is likely to move toward SoftBank’s leverage, its asset values, and any future liquidity event involving OpenAI.
The bond sale does not change the core bet. SoftBank is still positioning OpenAI as one of the central assets in its AI strategy. What changed is the financing mix behind that bet, and the price investors are demanding to fund it.
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