SoftBank Group has launched a bond offering worth more than $11 billion to help finance its expanding investment in OpenAI, bringing the scale of the artificial-intelligence capital race directly into global credit markets.
The Japanese investment group is marketing $10 billion of dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes alongside €1 billion, or roughly $1.15 billion, of euro-denominated bonds.
The dollar offering is divided among 3½-, 5½- and 7½-year maturities. The euro bonds are being offered in four- and six-year maturities.
If completed at the planned size, the transaction would become one of the largest non-financial corporate bond offerings from the Asia-Pacific region.
The financing is directly connected to SoftBank’s AI strategy.
Proceeds are expected to fund a $10 billion payment representing the third tranche of SoftBank’s follow-on investment in OpenAI, scheduled to close October 1, as well as general corporate purposes.
SoftBank had previously arranged bridge financing for its OpenAI commitment. The new bond issuance is expected to replace the relevant $10 billion bridge facility.
The transaction also highlights the increasing connection between the AI investment cycle and debt markets.
Massive spending on models, chips, data centers and computing infrastructure has required technology companies and their financial backers to tap increasingly large pools of external capital.
Fitch assigned the proposed notes a BB+ rating. The rating agency expects SoftBank’s debt to rise as it funds committed investments but said the company should retain adequate liquidity and access to capital markets.
The bonds are expected to price September 24 and settle September 29.
For investors, pricing will provide an important test of how much risk global credit markets are willing to absorb to finance the AI investment boom.
