SoftBank issues $11B in bonds to fund OpenAI investment

SoftBank Group launched a bond offering on Monday, September 21, comprising $10 billion in dollar-denominated notes and 1 billion euros in euro-denominated debt to fund its investment in OpenAI. The combined volume exceeds $11 billion.

The transaction aims to replace a short-term bridge loan agreement of up to $40 billion, of which $25.9 billion remained outstanding in September. The proceeds will also finance a third investment installment in OpenAI scheduled for October, while the remaining $10 billion in unused bridge loan capacity will be cancelled.

The dollar portion features three maturities and the euro tranche has two maturities, coordinated by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, with pricing scheduled for Thursday, September 24. According to Dealogic data compiled by Reuters, the transaction ranks among the 20 largest corporate bond deals globally in 2026. LSEG data indicates it marks the largest non-financial corporate bond sale in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region, surpassing the $10.93 billion bond sale by 7-Eleven in January 2021.

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman stated that an initial public offering for the company would be unlikely before 2027. For listed investor SoftBank Group, which has sold nearly $15 billion in bonds across currencies in 2026, an eventual public listing would provide liquidity for its holdings and an exit path for its capital commitments.