Japan’s SoftBank said to raise up to $5 bln from bond issue

Tokyo-based Softbank Group Corp is aiming to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion through a dollar-denominated bond issue, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank were hired as joint global coordinators for the planned offering, the group said in an announcement on Thursday, without disclosing the amount.

The group is studying an issuance of hybrid bonds, a SoftBank spokesman said, without giving more details.

Hybrid bonds are often treated as quasi-equity by credit-rating firms, and so will allow SoftBank to raise capital without hurting its rating.

SoftBank did not specify the purpose of the proceeds in the announcement on Thursday.

Meeting with fixed-income investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and London reportedly began on Friday.

The debt issuance comes after the investment conglomerate announced in May establishing the $100 billion high-tech Vision Fund, the world's largest private equity fund, backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Last year, SoftBank acquired the British chip designer ARM Holdings PLC for $32 billion, and said it was considering selling around $9.8 billion worth of hybrid bonds in its current financial year through March to bolster its capital base and secure funds for future growth.

The group has recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics.

SoftBank Group is currently rated Ba1 by Moody's and BB+ by S&P.