SoftBank launches more than $11 billion bond offering tied to OpenAI

SoftBank Group has launched an offering of $10 billion and €1 billion in senior unsecured notes. The notes had not been priced or settled when the terms were reported.

According to the reported term sheet, proceeds would fund a $10 billion payment for the third tranche of SoftBank’s follow-on investment in OpenAI and support general corporate purposes. The notes were expected to price on September 24 and settle on September 29. SoftBank has separately said it plans to complete the $10 billion third tranche on October 1.

The dollar portion was divided among 3.5-year, 5.5-year and 7.5-year maturities, while the euro portion was split between four-year and six-year maturities. Final coupons, yields and issue sizes were not available in the opened sources.

The planned payment is to OpenAI Group PBC. OpenAI recently appointed Paul Christiano to its Foundation Board and Safety and Security Committee, providing context on the recipient’s governance.

SoftBank said in February that its three-tranche, $30 billion follow-on investment was initially expected to rely on bridge loans and other financing from major financial institutions, to be replaced over time with existing assets and other financing measures. The reported term sheet said the new bonds would cancel a $10 billion bridge facility used for the OpenAI investment.

Separately, SoftBank announced early repayment of the $25.9 billion outstanding balance on a $40 billion bridge facility from which $30 billion had been drawn. The available disclosures do not establish the precise relationship between that facility and the $10 billion facility described in the reported term sheet.

If completed at the planned size, the offering would be the largest Asia-Pacific and Japan non-financial corporate bond deal on record, according to LSEG data cited in the report. Dealogic data cited there would also place it among the 20 largest corporate bond deals globally in 2026.