SoftBank launches bond sale for OpenAI investment

SoftBank Group Corp has introduced US$10 billion and 1 billion euro-denominated senior unsecured notes to finance its investment in OpenAI, as per a term sheet released on Monday (Sep 21). The US dollar-denominated bonds are broken down into 3-1/2, 5-1/2, and 7-1/2 year maturities, while the euro-denominated bonds have 4 and 6 year tenors, according to the term sheet.

The money raised from these bonds will be utilized to cover SoftBank's US$10 billion payment for the third tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, which is anticipated to finalize on Oct 1, and for SoftBank's general corporate activities, as stated in the term sheet. Earlier, SoftBank had secured a US$10 billion bridge loan facility to finance its OpenAI investment, and the bonds will serve to settle that loan, according to the term sheet.

The bond issuances are projected to be priced on Sep 24 and settle on Sep 29, per the term sheet. Lead bookrunners for the notes are Citigroup and JPMorgan, as per the term sheet. SoftBank's office was closed for a holiday in Japan, so it could not be reached for comment.