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SoftBank sells the largest high-yield bond on record to fund its OpenAI stake

The group raised 11.1 billion dollars in dollar and euro bonds to pay for the final tranche of an investment it has now committed 64.6 billion dollars to.

Assembled by Claude from 7 sources at 7 outlets · Friday, September 25, 2026, Morning edition, 10:26 AM EDT · no human byline

Disclosure. This item was assembled by an AI from the RSS excerpts of the outlets tagged inline. No human wrote or checked it before publication. Feed selection and categories are editorial choices by Teresa Lo. Nothing here is investment advice.

What happened

SoftBank Group raised 11.1 billion dollars in dollar-denominated and euro-denominated bonds to fund the final stage of its OpenAI investment, in the largest high-yield sale of its kind finance.biggo.com. Reporting described it as the biggest junk bond sale yet pressreader.com and as the world's biggest high-yield corporate bond sale aol.com. Another account framed it as a record Asia-Pacific high-yield bond sale briefasia.com. In yen terms the issue was 1.76 trillion yen newsonjapan.com.

The proceeds go to a commitment already made. SoftBank has committed 64.6 billion dollars to the maker of ChatGPT pressreader.combriefasia.com. Borrowing costs on the deal topped anything founder Masayoshi Son has previously paid on dollar debt jawlah.co. The figures are the more striking because SoftBank does not carry an investment-grade rating marketscreener.com.

Why it matters to investors

This is an equity stake in a private AI company funded through the public high-yield market. Investors are bankrolling SoftBank's AI bet at a steep price marketscreener.com, and the price paid exceeded the founder's prior dollar borrowing costs jawlah.co. Credit default swap spreads on SoftBank debt have already moved briefasia.com.

The timing of the cash flows matters as much as the size. SoftBank's investment will not be converted into cash this year jawlah.co. That leaves a funded, illiquid position on one side of the balance sheet and dated, rated-below-investment-grade obligations on the other marketscreener.com. Son is aiming to establish SoftBank as a leading AI platform, with the OpenAI stake sitting alongside its semiconductor holdings and expanding AI infrastructure businesses newsonjapan.com.

What to watch

Credit spreads are the first read. Default swap spreads on SoftBank debt have already widened briefasia.com, and the new issue's coupon set a high-water mark for the group's dollar borrowing jawlah.co.

The second is whether this route stays open. The sale is the largest of its kind on record finance.biggo.comaol.com, which by definition tests the depth of the high-yield market rather than confirming it. Son has spoken of a one-trillion-dollar AI ambition marketscreener.com, and the OpenAI commitment alone stands at 64.6 billion dollars pressreader.com, so the funding requirement extends well beyond this issue. Watch the ownership stake the commitment buys pressreader.com and whether any of the position converts to cash on a timetable, given that it will not do so this year jawlah.co.

Sources

  1. finance.biggo.com: SoftBank Raises $11.1 Billion in Record High-Yield Bond Sale to Fund Final OpenAI Tranche (2026-09-25)
  2. pressreader.com: SoftBank raises $11.1bn in biggest junk bond sale yet | Business Day - PressReader (2026-09-25)
  3. aol.com: SoftBank raises $11.1 billion in world's biggest high-yield corporate bond sale - AOL.com (2026-09-24)
  4. briefasia.com: SoftBank Raises $11.1 Billion in Record Asia-Pacific High-Yield Bond Sale - BriefAsia (2026-09-24)
  5. marketscreener.com: Investors bankroll SoftBank's AI bet at a steep price | MarketScreener (2026-09-25)
  6. jawlah.co: SoftBank's bet on OpenAI raises borrowing costs with more than $11 billion in dollar bonds - Jawlah (2026-09-24)
  7. newsonjapan.com: SoftBank Expands AI Investments With 1.76 Trillion Yen Bond Issue | News On Japan (2026-09-24)