OpenAI’s IPO delay raises stakes for SoftBank’s SB Energy listing

Growing uncertainty over the timing of OpenAI's public debut is adding pressure to SoftBank's planned U.S. listing of its data center subsidiary SB Energy, which is targeting a valuation near $50 billion but has yet to set a date for what would be one of the largest energy infrastructure IPOs in recent years.

A Financing Strategy Under Strain

The Financial Times reported Thursday that the delay to OpenAI's IPO raises the stakes for SoftBank's broader financing plans as AI-linked debts continue to mount. Sam Altman confirmed in a Fortune interview published September 12 that OpenAI will not go public in 2026, calling it an "ill-advised moment" given AI safety concerns. SoftBank shares fell 11% on Tuesday, September 15, after the remarks circulated, before rebounding later in the week as news of SB Energy's progress provided some relief.ft+4

SoftBank has pledged roughly $65 billion to OpenAI by October and has been relying on an increasingly complex web of debt to fund those commitments. The company retired the remaining $25.9 billion of a $40 billion bridge loan ahead of schedule in September, refinancing with longer-term instruments. It has also upsized a margin loan backed by its Arm ↗ 8.57% stake to $25 billion and is in discussions with Apollo Global Management ↗ 1.18% to expand a credit line secured by Vision Fund 2 assets from $5.4 billion to as much as $9 billion.ad-hoc-news+3

SB Energy's Path to Market

SB Energy filed its S-1 with the SEC on September 1, seeking to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "SBE". The company, whose strategic investors include OpenAI and Nvidia ↗ 2.54%, reported a 66.4% revenue increase in the first half of 2026 and has 8.8 gigawatts of data center capacity contracted or under construction across Texas and Ohio. A separate filing showed SB Energy plans to sell up to $500 million in shares to Japanese investors as part of the offering, with orders expected to begin as soon as this month.bloomberg+4

Market sources have indicated the IPO could raise between $5 billion and $7 billion. But with the OpenAI IPO no longer serving as a near-term catalyst, the cost of insuring against a SoftBank default via credit default swaps has climbed to a three-year high, and the conglomerate is weighing a high-yield bond sale of $10 billion to $20 billion.finance.yahoo+3

The Stakes Ahead

For SoftBank, the SB Energy listing offers a way to establish a public market valuation for its power infrastructure business while adding financial flexibility — a need made more acute by the OpenAI delay. As Reuters noted, Altman told Fortune: "I would say not 2026. We got a lot of stuff to do".reuters