SoftBank Reopens Talks for $10 Billion Loan Backed by OpenAI Stake After Adding Repayment Guarantee to Ease Banks' Valuation Concerns: Repor

SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC: SFTBF ) (OTC: SFTBY ) has reportedly revived negotiations for a $10 billion loan backed by its OpenAI stake after restructuring the proposal to include a corporate repayment.

SoftBank Revises OpenAI-Backed Loan Structure SoftBank has reopened discussions with a consortium of lenders for a $10 billion margin loan secured by its investment in OpenAI, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter.

The revised proposal reportedly includes a guarantee from SoftBank itself, allowing lenders to seek repayment from the Japanese technology investor if the value of the pledged OpenAI shares declines.

The change marks a shift from the company’s earlier structure, under which banks would have had recourse only to the collateral and not to SoftBank’s broader assets.

The lending group is expected to include Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS ), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) and Mizuho Financial Group (NYSE: MFG ), the report said.

SoftBank did not immediately respond to request for comments.

Read Also: Softbank's Masayoshi Son Isn't Worried About An AI Bubble— He's Hunting For The Next Trillion-Dollar Industry: 'Just The Beginning' Why Banks Were Cautious About OpenAI Collateral The negotiations underscore lenders’ reluctance to accept stakes in privately held companies as collateral because such assets are more difficult to value and liquidate than publicly traded shares.

SoftBank had initially sought to secure the financing solely against its OpenAI investment, but lenders reportedly pushed back over concerns that the shares alone might not adequately protect them if their value declined.

SoftBank’s AI Spending Continues to Accelerate The financing forms part of founder Masayoshi Son’s aggressive artificial intelligence investment strategy.

SoftBank has committed more than $60 billion to OpenAI and related AI infrastructure initiatives, including the Stargate data center venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL ).

Unlike a previous financing effort backed by publicly traded Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM ) shares, the OpenAI-backed loan involves a private company, making valuation more challenging for lenders.

OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering in June, a move that could eventually make SoftBank’s stake easier to value and use as collateral.

Meanwhile, SoftBank faces a March 2027 deadline to repay a $40 billion bridge loan used to help finance its OpenAI investment.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published editors.

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