NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 08:19 ET — Market closed
- SoftBank ended down 1.9% at 4,400 yen in Tokyo’s last session of 2025.
- The stock cooled as investors weighed SoftBank’s growing bill for AI infrastructure.
- Tokyo markets are shut for New Year holidays, with trading set to resume next week.
SoftBank Group shares fell on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the final trading session of 2025 after the company said it had completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, deepening CEO Masayoshi Son’s bet on artificial intelligence. The stock closed down 1.9% at 4,400 yen.
The moves matter because SoftBank has been repositioning itself as a major backer of the physical plumbing behind AI — data centers, networks and power capacity needed to run large models — at a time when investors are growing more sensitive to funding needs. That puts a sharper spotlight on how quickly returns arrive versus how quickly cash goes out the door.
Some traders framed the decline as holiday-driven positioning rather than a shift in the AI story. “It appears to be driven by end-of-year adjustment selling amid thin trading,” Nomura Securities strategist Wataru Akiyama said, referring to low liquidity around holidays. The Business Times
Tokyo’s cash equities market is closed for New Year holidays from Jan. 1 through Jan. 3, with no trading on the weekend, according to Japan Exchange Group’s calendar. U.S. stock markets are also closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday.
SoftBank’s latest catalyst is its agreement to acquire U.S. digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge for about $4 billion, a deal that values the target at $16 a share — a 15% premium — and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to approvals. DigitalBridge is expected to keep operating as a standalone platform.
Broader Tokyo stocks eased into the year-end close, with the Nikkei ending down 0.37% at 50,339.48 and the Topix down 0.51% at 3,408.97, a record year-end level. Jiji Press said heavyweight components such as SoftBank and some nonferrous metal producers weighed on the market amid a quiet holiday period.
SoftBank’s pullback still leaves it in a wide trading range, with Reuters data showing a 52-week band of 1,432.50 yen to 6,923.75 yen. The stock’s last reported session range was 4,332 yen to 4,500 yen.
Overseas, DigitalBridge shares jumped on the deal announcement, reflecting investor expectations for a takeout price anchored by SoftBank’s cash offer and the closing timeline. Barron’s reported the offer price at $16 a share and said the deal is expected to wrap in the second half of 2026.
DigitalBridge manages roughly $108 billion in assets, according to reports tied to the transaction, and its portfolio is concentrated in data-center and connectivity investments. That footprint is central to SoftBank’s pitch that it wants more exposure to the infrastructure layer of AI growth.
Before Tokyo’s next session, SoftBank investors will be looking toward the next company update window: its IR calendar flags third-quarter results in February as a regular milestone. That report is likely to sharpen focus on funding plans, balance-sheet discipline and the pace of AI-related spending.
Deal-watchers are also tracking the paperwork. A DigitalBridge investor-relations filing posted around the announcement outlines the transaction framework and typical merger conditions, keeping attention on regulatory steps and the closing path into 2026.
