SoftBank shares fall 8% as OpenAI-backed loan talks stall

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SoftBank’s talks for a $6 billion OpenAI-backed margin loan have stalled.
The loan target had already been cut from $10 billion after lender caution.
SoftBank shares fell more than 8% on Wednesday after the report.

SoftBank is still considering different fundraising options and could return to the margin loan later, Bloomberg reports. The company had secured about $5 billion in support before the discussions stalled, though it was unclear whether those commitments were formal or preliminary.

OpenAI stake proves hard to borrow against

The loan was meant to give SoftBank cash without forcing it to sell part of its OpenAI holding. A margin loan allows a borrower to raise money against an asset, but OpenAI remains private, making it harder for lenders to agree on a reliable valuation.

Some creditors had already been cautious about lending against shares in an unlisted AI company, especially after SoftBank reduced the original target by 40% from $10 billion to $6 billion. The planned financing had looked more promising after OpenAI moved toward a public listing. OpenAI said Monday that it had confidentially filed for an IPO in the U.S. and is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a potential listing as soon as this fall.

Even so, the IPO filing did not remove the short-term funding question. SoftBank’s exposure to OpenAI has become one of the defining bets of Son’s latest AI push, but it has also increased scrutiny of how the group plans to finance that ambition.

Debt deadline looms behind AI expansion

The stalled loan matters because SoftBank already has a large repayment need ahead. In March, the company signed a $40 billion bridge facility tied primarily to follow-on investments in OpenAI, including a $30 billion investment commitment. That borrowing is due to be repaid in March 2027, according to SoftBank’s own announcement.

SoftBank has said it expects to repay the bridge financing through existing assets and other funding measures. Those options could include selling assets, issuing bonds, or borrowing against listed holdings such as Arm and Intel. Both stocks have surged this year as AI enthusiasm lifted chip and infrastructure names, giving SoftBank more flexibility than it had during earlier market downturns.

The cost of a bigger AI balance sheet

SoftBank still has several ways to raise cash, and its stock remains up strongly for the year even after Wednesday’s drop. But the setback shows that financing the AI boom is becoming more complicated.

Son’s OpenAI bet may eventually pay off if the company lists successfully, yet until then, SoftBank must bridge the gap between private-market optimism and the stricter math of credit markets.

We also reported OpenAI secures new investment from SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Amazon to expand AI infrastructure.

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