The SoftBank bond sale raised about $11.1 billion across five tranches, with coupons from 7.125% to 9.75%. SoftBank Group priced the notes on 24 September 2026 and settles them on 29 September. The proceeds fund its final $10 billion payment into OpenAI, due to close on 1 October.
The Five Tranches, and What Each One Costs
Most coverage carried the headline total. The company’s own notice sets out the full structure, in two currencies and five maturities.
| Tranche | Maturity | Coupon |
|---|---|---|
| $1 billion | Due 2030 | 8.625% |
| $4.5 billion | Due 2032 | 9.250% |
| $4.5 billion | Due 2034 | 9.750% |
| €500 million | Due 2030 | 7.125% |
| €500 million | Due 2032 | 8.000% |
The aggregate principal is “approximately USD 11.1 billion or JPY 1,763.2 billion equivalent”, according to SoftBank Group’s issuance notice of 24 September 2026. The dollar notes account for $10 billion and the euro notes for €1 billion.
The final coupons came in below the range circulated during bookbuilding, which had pointed to as much as 8.875%, 9.5% and 9.875% on the three dollar tranches. Order books were reported above $20 billion, and strong demand is what allows an issuer to price at the tighter end of talk.
What the Money Is For
This is the last instalment of a commitment made in February 2026. SoftBank agreed then to invest a further $30 billion in OpenAI through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, in three $10 billion tranches dated 1 April, 1 July and 1 October 2026. The first two have been paid.
On completion of the third, SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI reaches about $64.6 billion, for a holding of roughly 13%. The notice says proceeds fund “the USD 10 billion payment for the third and final tranche of the USD 30 billion follow-on investments in OpenAI Group PBC”, plus general corporate purposes.
The Bridge Loan This Replaces
The sale is a refinancing as much as a fundraising, and that part went largely unreported. SoftBank arranged a $40 billion bridge facility in March 2026 and drew $30 billion of it. A bridge facility is short-term borrowing meant to be repaid once permanent funding is arranged.
SoftBank prepaid the $25.9 billion then outstanding on 15 September 2026, and says it intends to cancel the remaining $10 billion of undrawn capacity alongside this issuance. The effect is to swap short-dated bank debt maturing in March 2027 for bonds running to 2030, 2032 and 2034 — a longer schedule at a higher coupon.
Which Record Was Broken, and Which Was a Different Record
Two separate claims circulated, and they are not the same measurement.
- Largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally: the $11.1 billion total passes the $10.9 billion raised by the French telecoms group Numericable in 2014.
- Largest non-financial corporate bond deal from Asia Pacific and Japan: it passes the $10.93 billion raised by 7-Eleven in January 2021.
High-yield, or speculative-grade, debt is debt rated below investment grade. S&P Global and Fitch both rate these notes BB+, one notch below investment grade. SoftBank has issued about $14.6 billion of high-yield bonds during 2026, which reporting puts at 63.4% of the Asia Pacific and Japan high-yield corporate market for the year.
What Borrowing Costs SoftBank Now, Against Five Years Ago
The comparison with its own past issuance is the clearest measure of how the terms have moved. In June 2021 SoftBank raised $7.3 billion at yields between 2.125% and 5.25%. The 2026 dollar tranches price between 8.625% and 9.75%.
The market’s assessment of default risk has moved with it. SoftBank’s five-year credit default swap spread — the annual cost of insuring its debt against default, quoted in basis points, where 100 basis points is one percentage point — exceeded 400 basis points in the week to 25 September 2026, against about 280 basis points in June 2026. Benchmark borrowing costs have risen generally over the same period, with the 30-year United States Treasury yield reaching 5.47% on 24 September 2026.
What Ratings Analysts Said
Views split between the reception the sale got and the balance sheet underneath it.
Satoru Aoyama, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said he was “positively surprised by the market appetite”, adding that “hyperscalers in the US have been raising debt but they have high credit ratings. Now AI-driven debt issuance has reached the high-yield market at scale.”
Mark Chapman, head of telecom and media at CreditSights, was more cautious: “Risks for SoftBank credit are material and have increased as concentration has increased and cash flow has come under material strain.” CreditSights notes that Arm and OpenAI together account for about three-quarters of the group’s asset value at current levels.
The Listing That Slipped
The financing question became urgent because the exit route moved. OpenAI’s initial public offering is no longer expected in 2026, and chief executive Sam Altman has said a listing now would be ill-advised while the company works through safety questions. SoftBank shares fell sharply when that became clear, and rose more than 7% on 24 September 2026 after the bond issuance was confirmed.
The site covered the IPO coming off the 2026 calendar earlier in September. Share prices and credit spreads move daily, so the figures above are readings on the dates given rather than settled values.
SoftBank Bond Sale: Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Did SoftBank Raise?
About $11.1 billion, or roughly ¥1,763.2 billion equivalent: $10 billion of dollar notes in three tranches and €1 billion of euro notes in two, priced on 24 September 2026 with settlement on 29 September 2026.
What Interest Rates Do the Bonds Pay?
The dollar notes carry coupons of 8.625% due 2030, 9.250% due 2032 and 9.750% due 2034. The euro notes carry 7.125% due 2030 and 8.000% due 2032.
What Are the Proceeds Being Used For?
SoftBank says they fund the $10 billion payment for the third and final tranche of its $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI, expected to close on 1 October 2026, and general corporate purposes.
How Much of OpenAI Will SoftBank Own?
About 13%, once the third tranche completes, on cumulative investment of roughly $64.6 billion.
Are These Bonds Investment Grade?
No. S&P Global and Fitch both assign BB+, one notch below investment grade, which places the notes in the high-yield or speculative-grade category.
What Happened to the Bridge Loan?
SoftBank arranged a $40 billion bridge facility in March 2026 and drew $30 billion. It prepaid the $25.9 billion outstanding on 15 September 2026 and says it will cancel the remaining $10 billion of undrawn capacity alongside this bond issuance.
