TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp has hired banks for a potential sale of dollar and euro bonds, in what would be its first overseas debt sale in three years.

       The Japanese technology conglomerate mandated Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc for a possible offering of notes with tenors from three years to 12 years, according to a source.

       The company previously sold US currency and euro-denominated notes in 2018.

       A debt deal would come after SoftBank Group priced Japan’s biggest local corporate note sale of the year earlier this month, according to the source.

       The tech giant led by billionaire Masayoshi Son recently posted the largest-ever quarterly profit by a Japanese company after reaping gains from investments led by newly public Coupang Inc.

       SoftBank has been reported to be the single-biggest issuer in the Japanese corporate bond market in the past decade, raising more than six trillion yen (US$54bil or RM224bil) with the bulk of that coming from retail investors.

       The company is said to be considering an overseas bond deal to further expand its investor base and also because market conditions are good, a SoftBank Group spokeperson said.

       Yield premiums on SoftBank Group’s dollar and euro notes sold in 2018 have dropped this year, reflecting bullishness in the overall credit market.

       The spread on its US currency debt due in 2028, for example, has tightened 79 basis points in the period to 295 basis points, according to Bloomberg-compiled prices. —Bloomberg