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IT Home reported on October 31 that, according to a report by the Financial Times on the 30th, Blackstone told investors that Anthropic might not receive an investment-grade credit rating immediately after going public. This expectation reverses Blackstone’s earlier position and adds to the difficulty Anthropic faces in raising funds for its massive spending.
According to people familiar with the matter, in Anthropic’s latest $63 billion chip financing deal (IT Home note: approximately 420.183 billion yuan at current exchange rates), Blackstone told investors that major credit rating agencies were more likely to assign Anthropic a rating in the higher tiers of speculative grade after its listing, rather than an investment-grade rating.
If Anthropic’s listing goes ahead next month, it could set a record for the largest IPO in history. Its prospectus says the company has a “bold but rational” plan to invest more than $800 billion (approximately 5.34 trillion yuan at current exchange rates) in computing infrastructure between now and 2045.
Whether Anthropic obtains an investment-grade rating will affect its ability to borrow at lower interest rates in the future to fund AI infrastructure. The company currently holds more than $112 billion (approximately 746.991 billion yuan at current exchange rates) in cash and cash equivalents, and investors expect the IPO could bring in about another $100 billion (approximately 666.957 billion yuan at current exchange rates).
For several months, Blackstone had told its investment partners that it expected Anthropic to obtain an investment-grade rating by the end of the year. However, people familiar with the matter said Blackstone recently revised its expectations based on guidance from major credit rating agencies and now considers Anthropic more likely to receive a rating in the BB range or higher.
Such a rating would narrow the sources of financing available to Anthropic. Investment rules prevent many insurers and pension funds from investing heavily in debt issuers with speculative-grade credit ratings. Anthropic may therefore still need to rely on suppliers with higher credit ratings to support its debt financing.
Wall Street banks completed the “Project North Star” financing deal earlier this week to fund Anthropic’s leasing of Google chips with a combined power capacity of 1.5 gigawatts. More than $42 billion (approximately 280.122 billion yuan at current exchange rates) in senior loans is guaranteed by Broadcom.
Broadcom is involved in the joint development of these chips and itself has an investment-grade credit rating; another $18 billion (approximately 120.052 billion yuan at current exchange rates) in subordinated debt is backed by the rent paid by Anthropic.
Institutional investors prefer senior debt because, if the borrower defaults, it is repaid before subordinated loans. Broadcom’s higher, A-tier credit rating was an important condition for Anthropic to obtain this financing.