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SoftBank Secures $40 Billion Bridge Loan to Back $30 Billion OpenAI Investment

The short, unsecured 12-month facility shifts large parts of SoftBank’s near-term funding needs onto banks and links the company’s balance sheet to OpenAI’s private valuation and IPO timing.

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Overview

  • Reported on Monday, July 27, 2026, SoftBank arranged a $40 billion unsecured bridge facility that allocates $30 billion to a follow-on OpenAI stake and leaves $10 billion for corporate use.
  • The loan has been broadened into a 21-lender syndicate with lead arrangers including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, SMBC and MUFG and about $7 billion of the new allocations taken by participants.
  • First Abu Dhabi Bank, GIC and Standard Chartered each took nearly $1 billion of the newly distributed portion while underwriters and senior lenders still hold roughly $33 billion that may be syndicated further.
  • The deal carries a roughly 12-month term that matures in March 2027, is unsecured, and carries an initial margin near 250 basis points over SOFR with underwriting fees reported above $100 million.
  • The financing sharply concentrates Vision Fund 2 capital into one private AI company, raising refinancing and liquidity risks because OpenAI shares remain largely illiquid, were valued at about $852 billion in March, and have a filed IPO that will affect future valuations.