SoftBank Group Corp. Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son speaks at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday, June 20, 2024, in Tokyo, Japan. , making his most ambitious announcement since the Japanese conglomerate began taking steps to shore up its finances following a series of ill-timed startup investments.
Kosuke Okahara | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Softbank It announced plans on Friday to issue euro- and dollar-denominated bonds to pay down debt and focus investments on artificial intelligence.
The major Japanese holding company said it would issue about $900 million in U.S. dollar bonds in two tranches, as well as bonds worth 900 million euros ($962.8 million) in two tranches. The annual interest rates on these loans range from 5.4% to 7%.
SoftBank said the funds raised will be used for “debt repayment and general corporate purposes.”
Its shares closed up 2.5% after news of the bond issuance broke.
The debt raise comes as SoftBank’s overall financial losses have begun to narrow as it has had some successes, including an initial public offering of a chip design company. arm.
At the same time, the company, which operates a large technology investment arm called the Vision Fund, also said it is seeking to increase its investment in artificial intelligence companies.
In a rare public appearance this month, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son talked about a concept he calls artificial intelligence (ASI). He said this refers to artificial intelligence that is 10,000 times smarter than humans, and he expects this type of artificial intelligence to appear within 10 years.
SoftBank may be hoping to capitalize on improving investor sentiment toward the company, which has seen its shares rise 65% so far this year.
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