Softbank, the Japanese investment firm, has reportedly launched ¥1.4 trillion (€9.48bn) of loans to refinance the debt it used in its acquisition of Vodafone Group's Japanese unit. The deal will be Japan's biggest asset-backed loan to date.

Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Japan's Mizuho Financial Group are the three lead negotiators for the refinancing, which will substitute a ¥1.28 trillion one-year loan with a longer-term financing horizon, according to Bloomberg, which cited three sources familiar with the deal.