SoftBank Group (SFTBF), a Japanese investment holding firm, plans to cut a margin loan tied to its stake in OpenAI, the AI firm behind ChatGPT. The loan was initially set at $10 billion, but after some creditors expressed hesitation, the firm is now in talks to reduce it by 40% to $6 billion.
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OpenAI’s Loan Gets Slashed as Lenders Hesitate
SoftBank and the other banks arranging the loan held meetings with potential lenders, but the initial $10 billion pitch faced resistance. Much of the concern centers on OpenAI being a private company, which makes it hard to assign a reliable valuation.
As a result, lenders saw greater risk in using SoftBank’s OpenAI stake as collateral, leading to a planned cut in the loan size to $6 billion. The lenders being considered to fund the margin loan include private credit, financial firms, and hedge funds.
Notably, reports say talks with these lenders began as early as mid-March 2026. The margin loan carries a two-year term, with an option to extend by one more year. Even so, the final loan size may still change. Meanwhile, both SoftBank and OpenAI have declined to comment.
SoftBank’s Deepening OpenAI Bet Draws Credit Warning
OpenAI’s planned loan is part of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s wider push to expand the firm’s role in the fast-growing AI sector. The firm first invested in OpenAI in September 2024 and, in March 2026, secured a $40 billion bridge loan to bolster its support for the AI firm.
Since then, SoftBank’s total exposure to OpenAI has climbed to $64.6 billion, giving it a 13% stake in the firm. That growing bet drew scrutiny from the credit rating agency, S&P Global (SPGI).
In early March, the agency cut SoftBank’s credit outlook from stable to negative. They warned that its large stake in OpenAI could hurt SoftBank’s liquidity and asset quality. S&P Global also noted that OpenAI could make up for nearly 30% of SoftBank’s portfolio, while calling the stake one of the firm’s weakest holdings in terms of credit quality.
Is SoftBank a Good Stock to Invest In?
SoftBank (SFTBF) stock currently carries a Hold rating from four Wall Street analysts tracked on TipRanks Stocks Center. This means that of the 4 analysts, 2 assign the stock a Buy rating, 1 a Hold, and 1 a Sell. For its 12-month price target, analysts project an average price target of $30.61, representing a more than 21.5% downside potential. Despite the low forecast, the stock is up about 19% over the past 5 days and is currently trading around $39. For more information on this stock’s ratings, performance metrics, and price forecast, visit the TipRanks Stocks Comparison Center.
