According to reports, SoftBank Group is in talks with investment banks to issue bonds worth $10 billion to $20 billion to help refinance its loans related to investments in OpenAI. The bond issuance could start as early as September and is expected to be denominated in US dollars and euros.
According to informed sources, part of the proceeds from this issuance will be used to repay the $4 billion bridge loan SoftBank obtained earlier this year for its investment in OpenAI. The scale, timing, and structure of the issuance are still under discussion, and the final plan may be adjusted.
SoftBank has been continuously increasing its investment in the field of artificial intelligence and views OpenAI as one of its core assets in its AI strategy. Previously, SoftBank arranged a large-scale financing plan to support its investment in OpenAI, including the aforementioned $4 billion bridge loan.
This potential bond issuance reflects SoftBank's efforts to optimize the funding structure for its AI investments through long-term debt instruments, maintaining continuous investment in AI companies like OpenAI while reducing short-term financing pressure. As global tech giants accelerate their layout in artificial intelligence infrastructure and application ecosystems, large-scale capital investment in the AI field is also driving companies to explore more financing methods.
