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SoftBank Revives $10B Loan Talks Backed by OpenAI Stake, Adds Corporate Guarantee

July 2, 2026 at 00:01 EDT

Funding & M&A
Infra & Chips

SoftBank Group has reopened talks for a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake, newly offering a corporate guarantee that would cover the debt if the collateral's value falls short. The move aims to break a deadlock in negotiations. Reuters reported the development on July 1, 2026.

SoftBank · AI Financing

SoftBank Renews Talks for a $10B Loan Backed by Its OpenAI Stake

After earlier talks stalled over the difficulty of valuing private OpenAI shares, SoftBank returns to its full $10B target by adding a corporate guarantee — letting banks seek repayment from SoftBank itself if the collateral falls short.

$10B

Loan target, restored from a scaled-down $6B

~13%

Planned SoftBank stake in OpenAI

$64.6B

Total OpenAI investment to date

FROM STALLED TO REVIVED — THE LOAN TARGET

Same unit ($ billions) drawn to scale

$6B

scaled-down · stalled

$10B

revived w/ guarantee

KEY TERMS

Structure

Margin loan on OpenAI shares + corporate guarantee

Lenders

Goldman Sachs · JPMorgan · Mizuho

Related AI debt

$40B bridge loan maturing March 2027

Bull case

Seen as a positive signal for AI-investment strategy
SoftBank shares reportedly rose on the news
OpenAI's confidential US IPO filing may lift valuation and liquidity

Caution

Private OpenAI shares are hard to value and liquidate
Margin structure risks collateral calls or forced sales
Balance-sheet strain; S&P negative outlook flagged

The bottom line

A symbol of AI-fueled leverage financing — the outcome hinges on how much valuation risk lenders will tolerate on private shares, and how OpenAI's IPO progresses.

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