SoftBank wanted to borrow $6 billion against its OpenAI stake. Lenders, apparently, had other ideas.

Bloomberg reported on June 10 that SoftBank Group Corp.’s attempt to secure a margin loan backed by its investment in the AI giant has stalled, sending the company’s shares down more than 8% during Tokyo trading. The loan was meant to give SoftBank liquidity to keep feeding its AI ambitions without selling any of its prized OpenAI position.

From $10B to $6B to nowhere

SoftBank initially targeted $10 billion for the margin loan back in May 2026, a figure that was slashed by 40% as lender appetite cooled. The revised, smaller number still wasn’t enough to get banks across the finish line.

The core issue is straightforward. OpenAI is not publicly traded, which means there’s no liquid market to establish a clean, consensus valuation. Lenders extending margin loans want collateral they can price in real time and, if necessary, liquidate quickly.

SoftBank has poured upwards of $30 billion into OpenAI through various investment channels. An earlier $8.5 billion bridge financing arrangement helped facilitate initial stakes in the AI company, but scaling that kind of leverage further has proven far more difficult.

Why the market reacted so sharply

An 8% single-day drop for a company of SoftBank’s size is not a rounding error. Some reports cited the decline as high as 9.7%, which would represent billions of dollars in market capitalization evaporating in a few hours.

What this means for investors

SoftBank is reportedly exploring alternative fundraising methods. The options are limited and none are painless: the company could sell other assets, issue new equity, pursue different debt structures, or sell some of the very OpenAI shares it was trying to avoid selling in the first place.