SoftBank’s junk-bond deal highlights rising capital costs for AI race

When Masayoshi Son wants something, he writes big checks. The problem is that the checks are getting more expensive to cash. SoftBank Group is pushing ahead with one of the largest corporate high-yield bond offerings ever, seeking to raise more than $11 billion to refinance short-term bridge loans and pour more capital into OpenAI. The price tag for that privilege: yields between 9% and 10% on the dollar-denominated tranches, record levels for a company that has never been shy about leveraging up. The deal structure The offering is split across multiple tranches, with $10 billion in dollar-denominated notes spanning maturities of 3.5 to 7.5 years, plus an additional roughly €1 billion in euro-denominated notes. The longest euro tranches are pricing in the mid-8% area. SoftBank carries a BB+ credit rating from both S&P and Fitch, the highest rung on the junk-bond ladder. For context, SoftBank already set a company record back in April 2026 when it raised $3.6 billion in junk bonds with an 8.5% coupon on the 10-year dollar tranche. The new deal eclipses that benchmark by a wide margin, both in size and in cost. Despite the steep pricing, early demand has been fierce. More than $2...