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SoftBank has cut a planned OpenAI\u2011backed margin loan from around $10 billion to roughly $6 billion after banks and private credit funds pushed back on the deal\u2019s structure and the difficulty of valuing OpenAI, an unlisted AI unicorn.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n SoftBank Group is scaling back an ambitious financing plan that would have raised around $10 billion using its OpenAI shares as collateral, after lenders balked at both the structure of the margin loan and the private valuation underpinning the deal.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>, cited by Reuters and other outlets, SoftBank and its arranging banks have floated a reduced target \u201cas low as $6 billion\u201d in recent discussions with prospective lenders, implying a 40% cut from the original size.\u00a0U.S. News<\/a>\u00a0reported that the initial pitch \u201chad investors concerned about the difficulty of reaching a valuation for an unlisted company like ChatGPT maker OpenAI.\u201d<\/p>\n Bloomberg\u2019s April scoop on the deal said SoftBank was seeking \u201ca $10 billion loan secured by its shares in US artificial intelligence giant OpenAI,\u201d structured as a two\u2011year margin loan with an option to extend by another year.\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0said the facility would let the Japanese conglomerate \u201ctake on more debt for its push into AI\u201d without selling down its OpenAI stake.<\/p>\n In practice, the mechanics are straightforward but risky: SoftBank borrows against its OpenAI equity, and if the value of that collateral falls, lenders can demand more margin or seize shares. The sticking point, lenders now say, is how to price that collateral. As the\u00a0Economic Times<\/a>\u00a0summarized from Bloomberg\u2019s reporting, \u201csome creditors expressed concerns over how to value OpenAI, a privately held company,\u201d which has missed some internal sales and user milestones in recent quarters. A separate breakdown on Chinese platform Futu noted that \u201cthe crux of the issue lies in lenders\u2019 inability to determine a reasonable valuation\u201d for OpenAI, calling the loan talks \u201ca major setback\u201d for SoftBank\u2019s AI leverage strategy.<\/p>\n Those worries are layered on top of SoftBank\u2019s already sizable AI financing stack. In March, Bloomberg reported that SoftBank had secured a $40 billion bridge loan to fund its OpenAI investment and general corporate needs, a deal backed by a syndicate of global banks and now being syndicated out to more lenders.\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0said institutions such as HSBC, BNP Paribas and Intesa Sanpaolo were joining as sub\u2011underwriters, each asked to commit around $5 billion. Reuters, summarizing the same reporting, added that SoftBank \u201cis pursuing a loan of as much as $40 billion\u201d to support its OpenAI bet.\u00a0Yahoo Finance<\/a>\u00a0echoed that figure, underscoring just how much leverage is already tied to the AI trade.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The margin loan was meant to be another pillar in that structure: by borrowing against OpenAI shares rather than selling them, SoftBank can raise cash to expand its AI investments \u2014 potentially into infrastructure projects like the \u201cStargate\u201d data\u2011center initiative \u2014 while preserving upside if OpenAI\u2019s valuation continues to rise.\u00a0TechFundingNews<\/a>\u00a0noted that the $10 billion margin loan was \u201cjust one part of SoftBank\u2019s larger AI financing plan,\u201d which reportedly includes commitments of more than $60 billion to OpenAI and related ventures through Vision Fund 2, the $40 billion bridge loan and other facilities.<\/p>\n Cutting the margin\u2011loan target to around $6 billion does not end that strategy, but it signals that creditor appetite for concentrated, private\u2011equity\u2011collateral risk is not unlimited, even in a market obsessed with AI. As\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0put it in an earlier piece on the $40 billion bridge, the OpenAI exposure is already \u201cone of the biggest tests yet of creditor sentiment toward the Japanese conglomerate\u2019s debt-fueled push further into artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest downsizing suggests that, for now, banks and funds are willing to back SoftBank\u2019s AI ambitions \u2014 but only up to the point where they can still convince their own risk committees that the collateral they are lending against can be valued with something more than vibes and secondary\u2011market whispers.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
Lenders question private OpenAI valuation and structure<\/h2>\n
What the scaled\u2011back loan means for SoftBank\u2019s AI push<\/h2>\n