SoftBank(US:SOBKY) 智通财经网·2025-10-23 03:31Group 1 - SoftBank Group is attracting market attention with its high-yield dollar bonds, particularly a $2.9 billion hybrid bond that may face significant pressure due to its lower priority compared to senior bonds, necessitating a higher yield to attract investors [1] - The hybrid bond set a yield of 8.25% for bonds maturing in 2065, while ordinary bonds maturing in 2035 yield only 6.8%, highlighting the cost pressure associated with the hybrid bonds [1] Group 2 - SoftBank is accelerating its investment in AI unicorn OpenAI, having led a funding round in April that valued OpenAI at $300 billion, with a commitment to invest $30 billion by year-end, though only $7.5 billion has been invested so far [5] - To address funding gaps, SoftBank is diversifying its financing strategies, including negotiating margin loans secured by Arm Holdings shares and selling T-Mobile US stock, while issuing a record $4.1 billion yen bond in Japan [5][8] - Traditional bank loans are largely absent in SoftBank's financing efforts, with its bond holdings exceeding bank loans by more than double as of June [8] Group 3 - The Vision Fund's poor performance is exacerbating funding pressures, limiting SoftBank's ability to attract large institutional investors, and its complex corporate structure puts it at a disadvantage in the AI race [8] - Rating agencies are closely monitoring SoftBank's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, with S&P indicating a potential downgrade if LTV exceeds 25%, which could happen if OpenAI equity and other investments are included [9] - In contrast, Oracle, a partner in SoftBank's "Stargate" initiative, maintains an investment-grade rating despite rising leverage and negative free cash flow, supported by its leading position in enterprise software and cloud infrastructure [9]