SoftBank announced on October 1 that the tranche was wired that day, Japan time, through SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and that the follow-on investments in OpenAI it first disclosed on February 27, 2026, were now fully completed.
Bond proceeds funded the final check
The payment was funded with proceeds from the record-breaking foreign-currency senior notes issuance SoftBank announced on September 24. Reuters, citing LSEG data, described the roughly $11.1 billion offering as the world's largest high-yield corporate bond sale on record.
The package comprised $10 billion of dollar-denominated notes and €1 billion of euro notes. Dollar coupons ran as high as 9.75 percent on a 7.5-year tranche, with $4.5 billion maturing in 2032 at 9.250 percent and $1 billion maturing in 2030 at 8.625 percent; the euro tranches paid 7.125 percent and 8.000 percent. The notes are rated BB+ by S&P Global Ratings Japan and Fitch Ratings Japan and were listed on the Singapore Exchange.
SoftBank also said it canceled the remaining $10 billion of undrawn capacity under the $40 billion bridge facility it signed on March 27, 2026. Following the cancellation and an early repayment announced on September 9, all borrowings under the bridge agreement have been repaid and no undrawn commitments remain.
A $730 billion pre-money price tag
The February agreement priced SoftBank's investment at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, structured as three $10 billion tranches scheduled for April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2026, Japan time. The securities are preferred shares that convert automatically into OpenAI common shares upon an initial public offering or a related listing.
SoftBank's board resolved on the investment on February 20, 2026, delegating the final decision on terms to chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto. The tranche closing dates were subject to acceleration in the event of a public listing of OpenAI shares.
13 percent of OpenAI — and what it is not
SoftBank's release states plainly that $64.6 billion is its cumulative investment and its holding is approximately 13 percent. Analysts caution against simply dividing one figure by the other: the implied figure of roughly $497 billion is SoftBank's blended average cost basis across several rounds — it is not a current valuation of OpenAI, and nothing in the release marks the position up or down.
The scale of the borrowing has nevertheless drawn market attention. Analysts note that SoftBank is using speculative-grade borrowing to grow its exposure to a private company whose future cash needs remain unusually large, and the firm's shares fell sharply around earlier loan reporting.
With the final tranche closed and the bridge facility fully repaid, SoftBank's follow-on chapter in OpenAI's fundraising is complete — leaving the Japanese conglomerate as one of the largest outside shareholders in the world's most valuable AI lab ahead of any eventual public listing.
By Hamza Faisal
