SoftBank Retires 2.875% Euro Note Early as Investors Weigh the Cost of Its AI Ambitions
Published on 10/25/2026 at 20:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SoftBank Group closed out the week with a mix of housekeeping and fresh scrutiny. On Friday the Japanese conglomerate confirmed it had fully repaid and cancelled all of its outstanding senior euro-denominated notes carrying a 2.875% coupon, well ahead of a maturity date that had been set for 6 January 2027. None of those bonds remain outstanding following the transaction.
The same day brought word that SoftBank's board had declared an interim dividend of 5.50 JPY per share, with payment scheduled for 2 December 2026. The record date is 30 September, and the total payout comes to 31,346 million JPY.
Credit Insurance Flashes a Warning
Behind the routine announcements, fixed-income markets have been sending a louder signal. Bloomberg reported that SoftBank's five-year credit default swaps climbed to 432 basis points on Tuesday, the highest level in nearly four years. The news agency pointed to unease about how the group will fund its artificial intelligence investments, along with the possibility of a sizeable acquisition.
Those financing costs weighed on the equity on Thursday, when Bloomberg linked the pressure to rising borrowing expenses and doubts about the sustainability of SoftBank's AI spending. By that point, the stock had extended its decline from a 2 June peak to 50%. Shares recovered some ground on Friday, adding 1.3%.
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Two Deals, No Confirmation
The credit market's jitters have a concrete backdrop: SoftBank is tied to two potential multibillion-dollar commitments, neither of which has been settled. Reuters reported on Tuesday that SoftBank, MGX and other existing OpenAI backers were in talks to join a funding round of roughly $30 billion. Both SoftBank and OpenAI declined to comment.
Separately, Bloomberg reported on 16 October that SoftBank was weighing an acquisition of Allied Universal at an equity valuation of about $18 billion. Those discussions were described as early-stage, with no final decision and no price agreed.
The group's borrowing terms have already drawn attention. Roughly two weeks ago, Reuters covered an $11 billion high-yield bond issue that carried yields of up to 9.75%, terms the agency read as a sign of investor concern over the cost of financing SoftBank's AI expansion and its obligations to OpenAI.
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A Portfolio Stake Heads for Wall Street
Not every item on the agenda involves raising money. OPay, the digital payments firm backed by SoftBank, is pursuing a US initial public offering and is targeting a valuation of up to $4.42 billion, according to a Reuters report on Friday. The company aims to raise as much as $366 million in the offering. Entities affiliated with SoftBank held 6.6% of OPay before the listing, per a regulatory filing.
SoftBank has set 10 November 2026 as its next reporting date, when it will publish results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and for the six months ended 30 September 2026.
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