SoftBank trims OpenAI margin loan to $6 billion after lenders push back on valuation

SoftBank Group has cut the size of a margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake to as little as $6 billion, down from an initial $10 billion target, after creditors raised concerns about the valuation, according to a Bloomberg report. The Tokyo-listed conglomerate had pitched the loan at an indicative margin of roughly 425 basis points over SOFR, which would place the borrowing cost near 7.9 percent at current rates. Lenders reportedly pushed back on valuing OpenAI shares as collateral, with secondary-market pricing on OpenAI lots since its March primary round skewing below the $852 billion post-money mark and sellers outnumbering buyers by roughly five to one in some venues. SoftBank's cumulative committed exposure to OpenAI will reach roughly $64.6 billion once a $30 billion follow-on round closes, giving the group about a 13 percent stake. To finance its position, SoftBank sold its entire Nvidia holding and its residual T-Mobile stake between June and December 2025, then borrowed a $40 billion bridge facility syndicated across eight banks. Group debt now sits at roughly 20.45 trillion yen, or about $135 billion. S&P last month lowered SoftBank's credit outlook, citing concerns that the scale of OpenAI exposure could impair group liquidity. The downsized margin loan highlights a widening gap between the headline valuation of private AI equity and the collateral value that creditors will accept.