SoftBank Group has launched the sale of $10 billion and €1 billion in senior unsecured bonds to help fund its investment in OpenAI, according to a term sheet reported by Reuters on September 21.
The dollar notes are split across 3.5-year, 5.5-year and 7.5-year maturities, while the euro bonds have four- and six-year maturities. If completed at the planned size, Reuters said the transaction would become the largest non-financial corporate bond deal on record in Asia-Pacific and Japan.
According to the term sheet, part of the proceeds will be used for SoftBank's $10 billion payment for the third tranche of its follow-on OpenAI investment, which is expected to close on October 1. The company had previously arranged a $10 billion bridge loan for that investment, and the bond financing is expected to replace that facility.
The notes are expected to price on September 24 and settle on September 29. Fitch assigned the proposed notes a BB+ rating.
The details come from the term sheet; SoftBank told Reuters it had no comment on the document.