SoftBank lines up $11B-plus high-yield bond sale to fuel OpenAI investment

The deal and its size

SoftBank Group Corp. is exploring one of the largest speculative-grade bond sales by a single issuer, seeking more than $11 billion across dollars and euros as it steps up backing for OpenAI. People familiar with the plan say the structure being floated includes $10 billion of dollar securities split across 3.5, 5.5, and 7.5 years, plus €1 billion (about $1.1 billion) in euro notes over 4 and 6 years. Part of the proceeds would go toward a follow-on OpenAI investment slated to close next month, and the deal could be priced as soon as Thursday. The company declined to comment.

If SoftBank ends up selling around $11 billion, it would rank among the biggest single-firm high-yield offerings on record when distressed exchanges are excluded.

What investors are being told on pricing

Banks are testing the waters with investors on potential yields, and the early feelers could shift before formal price talk. Indicative levels being sounded out include:

• Dollars: 3.5-year around 9% to low 9%; 5.5-year in the mid 9% area; 7.5-year in the high 9% to around 10% range.
• Euros: 4-year in the mid to high 7% band; 6-year around the mid 8% area.

If those levels stick, they would mark the highest yields SoftBank has paid in those particular currencies and maturities, according to Bloomberg data, though terms often evolve before final pricing.

How it fits into SoftBank's financing push

SoftBank's AI wager has become tightly linked to its ability to unlock value from OpenAI, following a commitment of close to $65 billion to the company. In March, it put in place a $40 billion bridge loan to support an additional OpenAI investment and has since repaid the remaining $25.9 billion outstanding on that facility.

The drive to stockpile firepower continued last week, leaving the group with nearly $21 billion of potential new borrowing capacity. Recent steps: the margin loan secured by Arm Holdings Plc shares was raised by $5 billion to $25 billion, and the existing credit facility was topped up by $450 million, lifting it to $6.5 billion.

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Separately, Apollo Global Management Inc. is in talks to take a SoftBank loan up to $9 billion, an increase of $3.6 billion, to help finance the OpenAI bet. People familiar with the transactions also say SoftBank secured an $11.87 billion loan tied to the OpenAI investment. Earlier this year, there was a $10 billion loan backed by its OpenAI stake.

As part of this broader funding campaign, SoftBank has sold nearly $15 billion in bonds in multiple currencies so far in 2026, making it the largest junk-rated borrower in bond markets this year, per Bloomberg-compiled data.

Citigroup Inc. is serving as the primary bookrunner and one of the global coordinators for the dollar tranches, alongside Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan is leading the euro offering and is among the joint global coordinators with Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

The backdrop: rates, risks, and ratings

Borrowing costs have climbed as inflation lingers across major economies. SoftBank's 2031 dollar bond yield reached 8.2% earlier this month, up from a January low of 6.7%, reflecting wider credit spreads and higher Treasury yields. Meanwhile, calls from leaders at big AI platforms to slow development over safety worries have nudged up the price of insuring SoftBank's debt to the highest in three years. Investors are also watching OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's statement that the company will not go public this year, a decision that affects how quickly SoftBank could turn parts of its investment into cash.

SoftBank is rated BB+ by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, the top rung of speculative grade. For context, 2026's biggest investment-grade bond sellers, Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., carry AA+ and AA ratings respectively, both higher than Japan's sovereign rating.

Why it matters for your money

This is a big test of appetite for AI-linked credit at higher yields. Watch where SoftBank's coupons land and whether the OpenAI follow-on closes next month. Together, those will shape how much SoftBank pays to keep funding its AI strategy and could ripple into pricing for other high-yield borrowers competing for your cash-like returns.

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