SoftBank Issues Another ¥260 Billion in Subordinated Bonds to Fund AI Investments

Odaily Planet Daily News: SoftBank Group plans to issue subordinated bonds worth ¥260 billion ($1.6 billion) to individual investors, just about two months after its last bond issuance targeting retail investors. According to a filing disclosed on Monday, the bonds have a 35-year maturity and include an issuer call option after 5 years. The bonds are scheduled to be priced on June 5, with an initial five-year coupon guidance range of 4.8% to 5.6%. Amid expanding capital demands for AI-related investments, SoftBank is rapidly returning to the retail bond market. This comes after the company scaled back a $10 billion margin loan facility secured by its OpenAI stake, highlighting increasing pressure on its financing conditions. SoftBank has invested over $60 billion in OpenAI and faces substantial funding needs related to AI infrastructure spending and other investments. Measured by credit default swaps (CDS), SoftBank's credit risk remains among the highest in Japanese corporations, having widened by approximately 70 basis points since 2026. (Jinshi)