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. File those splits as the term sheet’s, via Reuters. This desk did not set the maturities.

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. File the $10 billion third-tranche / October 1 / general-corporate-purposes lines as the term sheet’s. Do not invent a total OpenAI commitment size, a valuation, or an ownership percent. This desk is not adding those figures.

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. File that cancel-the-bridge line as the term sheet’s. Do not fold this $10 billion bridge into the already-filed about-$11.87 billion two-year loan tip.

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. File those dates as expected, not as a finished sale. Do not invent a coupon — the interest rate on the notes — or call the deal junk. 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. This desk did not sit on the syndicate.

Reuters says SoftBank Group could not be immediately reached for comment because it was a holiday in Japan. Do not invent a SoftBank quote, a Son remark, or a company confirmation of the term sheet. File the no-comment line as Reuters’.

Do not claim the notes have priced or settled, that a coupon was set, that these are junk bonds, or that this desk knows SoftBank’s total OpenAI commitment. 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.

CONFIRMED here: Reuters’ Hong Kong dispatch of a term sheet — Tier B wire, not a SoftBank newsroom PRIMARY — plus same-day Reuters reprints on KSL and CNA. The $10 billion dollar notes, the €1 billion / 1 billion euro notes, the 3½- / 5½- / 7½-year dollar tenors, the 4- and 6-year euro tenors, the $10 billion third-tranche OpenAI payment expected October 1, general corporate purposes, the cancel-$10-billion-bridge line, the expected September 24 price / September 29 settle, Citigroup and JPMorgan as lead bookrunners, and SoftBank not being reached on a Japan holiday are Reuters-attributed. NOT claimed: a SoftBank comment, a coupon, a junk-bond label, a total OpenAI commitment size, that the notes have priced or settled, that this desk saw the term sheet, a stock tip, or investment advice. Distinct from the already-filed softbank-openai-loan-11-87b and big-tech-ai-300bn-guarantees.