SoftBank taps Mizuho, SMBC, JPMorgan to lead 15 billion loan

SoftBank Group's investments in AI will be financed through a loan in which Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and JPMorgan Chase serve as lead underwriters -- a sign of the Japanese tech investor's ability to secure financing for its outsized ambitions. The one-year 15 billion bridge loan, one of the biggest borrowings SoftBank has pulled off to date, will be financed by 21 banks and includes 1.35 billion from Mizuho, 1.25 billion from SMBC and 1 billion from JPMorgan, according to people familiar with the matter. It also includes a combined 950 million from HSBC Holdings and Barclays and 850 million jointly from seven banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., MUFG Bank and Credit Agricole, said the people, who asked not to be named as the details of the financing remain private. Representatives of the banks also declined to comment.