| | MAY 20258IN FOCUSMizuho Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will act as lead underwriters on the loan that will support SoftBank Group Corp.'s AI initiatives.This indicates that the Japanese tech investor is capable of obtaining funding for its ambitious plans.According to reports, 21 banks will fund the $15 billion bridging loan, which is one of the largest borrowings SoftBank has made to date. Mizuho will contribute $1.35 billion, SMBC will contribute $1.25 billion, and JPMorgan will contribute $1 billion.It is also said to include $950 million from HSBC Holdings Plc and Barclays Plc and $850 million each from seven institutions, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., MUFG Bank Ltd., and Credit Agricole SA.Additionally, SoftBank is negotiating with possible loan investors for the $100 billion Stargate project, a drive for AI infrastructure in the US that intends to invest over $500 billion in data centers and provide the necessary hardware and electricity.According to Goto, SoftBank is always talking with banks about its short- and long-term financial strategy.Ampere and OpenAI are two important investments in the AI space, and Stargate is another planned investment.Six Japanese banks, 10 European banks, and five US banks make up the consortium of 21 lenders, according to SoftBank. According to SoftBank's presentation slides, banks showed enough interest in the Tokyo-based business to lend over $27 billion.SoftBank was reportedly looking to borrow up to $16.5 billion earlier this year to help finance AI developments in the US. The money might be used to finance SoftBank's OpenAI efforts.One of SoftBank's prior large loans was a $10 billion margin loan in 2021, which was secured by the company's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares. In order to refinance loans that supported the acquisition of US carrier Sprint Corp. in 2013 and Arm Holdings Plc in 2016, the business issued ¥2.65 trillion in senior debt in 2017. SOFTBANK TAPS MIZUHO, SMBC, JPMORGAN TO RUN $15 BILLION LOAN
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