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SoftBank Group Corp. reportedly discusses a $ 5 billion margin loan with various international banks. The loan is secured by the shares of its chip subsidiary, Arm Holdings Plc., and is expected to boost SoftBank's liquidity as it increases its investments in artificial intelligence. Sources close to the issue indicated that the funds will enable the company to continue its partnership with OpenAI and other AI-related projects.
The transaction would increase the total amount of margin loans that SoftBank has as collateral for Arm to approximately $18.5 billion. By March 2025, the company had received loans totaling $13.5 billion, with an additional $5 billion still outstanding. This is anticipated to be funded after previous loans secured by major financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and Goldman Sachs, which had earlier associated the IPO requirements of Arm with Softbank's credit resources.
Masayoshi Son, the company's founder, continues to accelerate SoftBank's activities, positioning the company as a major player in global AI development. His highest-value acquisitions, as outlined in his plan, include the acquisition of ABB Ltd.'s robotics business at a cost of $5.4 billion, as well as an investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI.
This move underscores plans to expand SoftBank's influence in the AI-based ecosystem, encompassing both hardware setup and software development.
The increase in SoftBank's portfolio share of assets related to AI corresponds to its mission to capitalize on the rapid development of automation, robotics, and machine learning technologies. The company's strong market performance, with its share growing by nearly 38% in 2025, has made SoftBank eager to utilize its ownership to fund future growth.
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Though the aggressive investment process of SoftBank is a pointer to its growth ambitions, it also speaks of its growing leverage. Analysts believe that the company is on the verge of reaching its 25% loan-to-value ratio due to the current acquisitions and investments.
It is estimated that its total funding needs will exceed $30 billion this year, based on its new deals with Ampere Computing and the Stargate data center project, which is being collaborated on with OpenAI and Oracle. JPMorgan records show that AI-related debt has risen to $1.2 trillion globally, indicating that more investors are exposing themselves to AI-related risks.
