SoftBank Group is raising $25 billion against its stake in chip designer Arm Holdings and planning a $10 billion to $20 billion bond offering to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout, the company announced this week.
The Arm margin loan expansion marks SoftBank's third major debt facility in days as Masayoshi Son's conglomerate accelerates spending on AI systems and data centers. The increased borrowing capacity comes as SoftBank has already committed billions to OpenAI infrastructure and faces competition from other mega-cap tech firms pursuing similar AI financing strategies.
SoftBank held 8.6% of Arm at the time of Arm's September 2023 IPO. The $25 billion margin loan is secured against that stake, allowing SoftBank to borrow cash without selling shares. The prior Arm facility stood at lower levels before this week's expansion. SoftBank retains voting control and upside participation while accessing liquidity through the collateral.
The company also completed an $11.87 billion term loan and expanded a credit line to $6.5 billion in separate tranches announced earlier in the week. The term loan and credit facility address near-term capital needs for data center construction and AI model training. SoftBank has committed to funding OpenAI's infrastructure expansion alongside Microsoft and Thrive Capital, though the timeline for that deployment remains fluid.
The bond deal would be one of SoftBank's largest capital raises in the debt markets. SoftBank's credit profile has held firm despite rising debt levels, with rating agencies monitoring obligations as the company increases AI bets. Comparable mega-cap tech borrowers like Microsoft and Amazon have raised similar-sized bond tranches for cloud infrastructure, though SoftBank's concentration in AI financing is steeper than most peers.
SoftBank has now arranged over $55 billion in fresh debt capacity in a span of days. If the planned $10 billion to $20 billion bond closes as structured, total new borrowing this week could reach $75 billion or more. The pace of issuance outpaces SoftBank's typical quarterly debt raises before 2026.
The number to watch is whether SoftBank closes the bond deal at yields in line with September 2026 pricing for comparable maturities, which would indicate whether credit markets are absorbing AI-focused corporate borrowing at stable terms.
