SoftBank Group is preparing its largest corporate bond issue on record, a 1 trillion yen offering that shows how rapidly the Japanese technology investor’s artificial-intelligence ambitions are reshaping its financing needs. The seven-year unsecured bonds will be marketed mainly to individual investors, with a provisional annual coupon range of 4.3% to 4.9%. Final terms are scheduled for September 4.
The scale is the immediate headline. Reuters reported that the planned issue is almost twice the size of SoftBank’s previous record, a 600 billion yen bond sold in April 2025. At the August 24 exchange rate cited by Reuters, the new offering is worth about $6.29 billion. Subscriptions are due to run from September 7 through September 16, with payment on September 17 and maturity on September 16, 2033.
SoftBank’s announcement does not earmark the proceeds for a specific investment, so the bond should not be treated as direct financing for any single AI asset. The broader balance-sheet context is nevertheless unmistakable. The group has been using bridge loans, bonds, asset-backed financing and share sales to support a much larger investment program centered on AI infrastructure and companies.
At its August earnings briefing, SoftBank said it had made two $10 billion follow-on investments in OpenAI, one in April and another in July, and planned a final $10 billion investment in October. It also listed a $5.4 billion planned acquisition of ABB’s robotics business and a $3.1 billion DigitalBridge investment expected in the second half of 2026. Those commitments explain why access to several funding markets matters even for a group with a vast portfolio of listed and private assets.
The latest financing data illustrate both the capacity and the trade-off. SoftBank reported net asset value of 72.3 trillion yen at June 30, up from 40.1 trillion yen at the end of March, largely because of a rise in Arm’s share price. Its adjusted loan-to-value ratio fell to 13% from 17%, well below the 25% level the company identifies for normal circumstances. Yet its stand-alone cash position declined to 2.3 trillion yen from 3.5 trillion yen, while adjusted stand-alone net debt rose to 10.8 trillion yen from 8.2 trillion yen.
That combination is central to the investment case. A rising portfolio value can make leverage ratios look more comfortable even as absolute debt increases and liquidity is deployed. It gives SoftBank room to finance new bets, but it also leaves the balance sheet more sensitive to the market value of major holdings, particularly Arm. The group’s own presentation shows why it emphasizes multiple financing channels rather than relying on a single asset sale or loan structure.
The proposed coupon also puts a visible price on that flexibility. The bonds are unsecured and unguaranteed, although they carry financial covenants and are expected to receive an A rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency. A coupon near the top of the provisional range would provide a substantial yield for Japanese retail buyers, but it would also lock in a meaningful interest expense for SoftBank through 2033. Final pricing will indicate how much compensation investors demand for lending against a strategy built around volatile technology assets and long-dated AI investments.
SoftBank still has substantial resources. Its June finance presentation described a 13% loan-to-value ratio as prudent, and its portfolio includes Arm, SoftBank Corp. and other holdings that can support financing or monetization. But the company is also layering new obligations onto a structure that already includes domestic bonds, foreign-currency notes, hybrids, bridge loans and asset-backed borrowing.
For investors, the record bond is therefore less a verdict on whether SoftBank can raise money than a test of whether it can earn more on that money than it costs. Retail demand may validate the group’s access to patient domestic capital. The harder question will take years to answer: whether today’s borrowing can be converted into durable AI cash flows before refinancing costs, portfolio volatility or slower returns narrow the margin for error.