ChainThink reports that on August 24, according to an official announcement, SoftBank issued 1 trillion yen (approximately $6.3 billion) in corporate bonds to individual investors in Japan, with a 7-year term, an interest rate tentatively set at 4.3% to 4.9%, and a face value of 1 million yen per bond.
The funds will be used for AI investments and repaying existing debt, with OpenAI being one of the largest funding needs. This is SoftBank’s third retail bond offering this year, having raised ¥418 billion in April and ¥260 billion in June.
SoftBank has committed to investing an additional $30 billion in OpenAI, with the final $10 billion due in October, bringing the total investment to $64.6 billion and a stake of approximately 13%. However, 1 trillion yen is still insufficient.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sharon Chen estimates that after this funding is received, SoftBank will still have a gap of over $20 billion and may continue issuing debt overseas in the short term.
The interest rate offered by SoftBank is significantly higher than Japanese government bonds (2.13% for 5-year and 2.88% for 10-year), reaching up to 4.9%. SoftBank expects to receive an A rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), but S&P currently rates it BB+, one level below investment grade.
Analysts say that banks, constrained by ratings, maturity, and funding pressures, find it difficult to increase their positions, making SoftBank increasingly reliant on individual investors.