In a filing on Monday, the Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank giant (9984.T) announced plans to raise 600 billion yen ($4.10 billion) through the issuance of bonds to individual investors.
According to a SoftBank spokeswoman, the proceeds of the largest bond offering in the company’s history would be used to pay off outstanding debt and to partially fund the purchase of shares of chip manufacturer Arm from its Vision Fund investment vehicle in August 2023.
Known for taking on debt to finance investments, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son led a $40 billion funding round last week in ChatGPT operator OpenAI, to which SoftBank would contribute $30 billion.
The bonds will yield between 3% and 3.6% when they mature in May 2030; the precise rate will be determined on April 18.
According to LSEG data, the group has around 7 trillion yen ($47.83 billion) in outstanding bonds. It seeks to maintain the ratio of its loans’ total value to the group’s total assets at less than 25%. This ratio was 12.9% at the end of December 2024.
