Fitch gives SoftBank Group its first credit rating at BB+

Fitch Ratings on Friday assigned SoftBank Group Corp. a first-time Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of BB+ with a stable outlook, a milestone for the Japanese conglomerate as it prepares one of the largest junk bond sales in history to finance its expanding artificial intelligence portfolio.fitchratings+1

The rating, which sits one notch below investment grade, reflects what Fitch described as SoftBank's position as "one of the world's largest and fastest-growing investment holding companies by portfolio size," while flagging "higher risk appetite, concentration in several large AI-related positions, and uneven investment performance".fitchratings

A Rating Tailored to a Unique Model

The BB+ designation applies to SoftBank Group, the parent holding company led by Masayoshi Son, and is distinct from the BBB+ investment-grade rating that Fitch has maintained for SoftBank Corp., the group's Japanese telecom subsidiary. The gap captures the different risk profiles: the parent's venture-capital-style strategy carries far more volatility than its telecom unit's stable cash flows.fitchratings+1

Fitch noted that SoftBank's equity portfolio expanded roughly 275% between March 2023 and June 2026, outpacing the Nasdaq Composite's 118% gain over the same period. Major investments in Arm Holdings ↗ 1.46% and OpenAI together generated $364 billion in fair value gains by June 2026. Yet the agency cautioned that portfolio credit quality, which it assessed at the bb level, is weighed down by exposure to OpenAI and the Vision Funds' appetite for riskier bets.fitchratings

Bridge Loan Repayment and a Jumbo Bond Sale Ahead

The rating arrives amid a flurry of balance-sheet activity. On September 9, SoftBank announced it would prepay the entire $25.9 billion outstanding balance on its $40 billion bridge loan facility on September 15, months ahead of the March 2027 maturity. The bridge loan had financed follow-on investments in OpenAI, where SoftBank's total commitment now approaches $65 billion.group+2

To replace that short-term borrowing with longer-dated debt, SoftBank has scheduled investor meetings at Citigroup's ↗ 1.36% New York offices from September 14 to 17 to explore a junk bond offering of $10 billion to $20 billion. Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ↗ 2.07%, JPMorgan Chase ↗ 0.52%, and Morgan Stanley ↗ 1.86% are also involved in the discussions.startupfortune+1

Son's Wealth Surge Underscores the Stakes

The financial maneuvering has coincided with a sharp rally in SoftBank shares, which have risen 48% year-to-date. That surge lifted Son's net worth to $81.4 billion, a $19 billion increase in nine days, according to Forbes data cited by VnExpress, placing him 28th on the global rich list. The gains were driven in part by investor enthusiasm around OpenAI's newest model, GPT-6 Astra, and the continued rise of Arm Holdings shares, which have gained 128% this year.vnexpress

Fitch outlined a path toward an upgrade if SoftBank can broaden its cash-flow-generating businesses and maintain loan-to-value ratios below the low-20% range, but warned that sustained weak returns or deteriorating access to capital could trigger a downgrade.fitchratings