Not All Upgrades Are Welcome: Moody’s Still Labels SoftBank Junk

A rating upgrade is usually a cause for celebration. So why when Moody’s Ratings bumped up its rating for Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. did the company bristle?

What really happened?

In 2020, SoftBank withdrew its request for a Moody’s rating. Despite that Moody’s still decided to cover the company’s debt as an “unsolicited rating.” On Wednesday, it raised that rating to Ba2 from Ba3. In reaction, SoftBank attacked the rating, saying that it was “based solely on their subjective assumptions and hypotheses, with no reasonable factual basis.”

Read more: SoftBank Group’s Rating Raised by Moody’s on Debt Reduction

What’s the ...