SoftBank Group will hold meetings with investors in New York next week to sound out interest for a potential U.S. dollar junk-bond sale, as billionaire Masayoshi Son’s investment firm presses ahead with a borrowing spree to finance its massive bet on artificial intelligence. Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto and other SoftBank executives will hold discussions in person from Sept. 14 to Sept. 17 at Citigroup’s office, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citi, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are arranging meetings with investors eligible to purchase notes sold in the U.S. under rule 144A, the person added, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.
The gatherings aren’t tied to a particular offering. The Japanese firm is considering raising $10 billion to $20 billion from a junk-bond sale, which may also include a tranche in euros, people familiar with the matter said last month. That offering could have meaningful implications for the U.S. high-yield index — if the debt meets inclusion criteria — and be one of the largest speculative-grade corporate bond sales ever, strategists at Barclays wrote in a note earlier this month.
The offering may come with a “meaningful” pick-up over SoftBank’s existing bonds and comparable credits, she wrote. SoftBank has put tens of billions of dollars into AI companies, raising leverage on its balance sheet and concerns that it has too much AI-related risk. The company obtained a $40 billion bridge loan earlier this year to help fund its investments in OpenAI, and SoftBank is now spreading out across debt markets for longer-term debt to refinance that burden.
The company’s increased AI holdings make “a sharp decline in AI stock valuations or further aggressive investment, particularly in OpenAI, key credit risks.” The company priced Japan’s single largest corporate bond on Sept. 4 at ¥1 trillion ($6.5 billion), targeting retail investors. Japan’s mom and pop investors have long backed Son’s company with their cash, attracted by the higher coupons on its debt and its strong brand recognition as the owner of a major baseball team and large mobile carrier. The cost of funding Son’s latest investment conviction is so large, however, the company is having to lean more on international fixed-income investors.
SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI is slated to reach close to $65 billion by October. But unlike many of the big tech firms tapping global debt markets for huge amounts of cash, SoftBank’s credit profile is weaker. SoftBank is rated at BB+ by S&P Global Ratings, the rater’s highest speculative-grade rating.
By contrast, Alphabet and Amazon.com, the two biggest sellers of corporate bonds in 2026, have ratings of AA+ and AA respectively, higher than the Japanese sovereign.
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