SoftBank launches $10B plus €1B notes for OpenAI third-tranche payment

A Reuters-seen term sheet shows SoftBank Group launched $10 billion of dollar notes and €1 billion of euro senior unsecured notes to fund its $10 billion third-tranche OpenAI payment, expected to close October 1, and to cancel a $10 billion bridge facility.

FINANCE desk — The next OpenAI check is moving off a short-term bank bridge and onto public bonds. That is a money-desk read on how the tranche is being funded — a launched term sheet, not a priced coupon and not a SoftBank speech.

The dollar notes are split into 3½-year, 5½-year, and 7½-year tenors. The euro notes are split into 4-year and 6-year tenors. Tenor means how long until a note comes due.

Proceeds will fund SoftBank’s $10 billion payment for the third tranche of its follow-on investment in OpenAI, expected to close on October 1, and for general corporate purposes. A tranche is one scheduled slice of a larger follow-on.

SoftBank earlier secured a $10 billion bridge loan facility to fund its OpenAI investment, and the bonds will cancel that, the term sheet said. A bridge loan is short-term debt meant to be replaced later.

The notes are expected to price on September 24 and settle on September 29. Price here means set the interest rate and final size with buyers. Settle means the cash and the notes change hands. No coupon was published.

Citigroup and JPMorgan are lead bookrunners, the term sheet said. A bookrunner is the bank that runs the sale and finds buyers. File Citi and JPM as the term sheet’s leads.

Reuters says SoftBank Group could not be immediately reached for comment because it was a holiday in Japan.

A priced deal would show a coupon and a final allocation. None were published.

Plain English for the rest of the card: senior unsecured notes = bonds that rank with ordinary company debt and are not backed by a specific building or stock pile as collateral. tenor = how long until the notes come due. tranche = one scheduled slice of a follow-on investment. bridge loan / bridge facility = short-term debt meant to be replaced later. bookrunner = the bank that runs the sale and finds buyers. coupon = the interest rate on the notes — not published here. general corporate purposes = leftover proceeds the company can use beyond the named OpenAI payment. This filing is the launched term sheet. A priced sale would show a coupon. None was published.