Blackstone has warned investors that Anthropic may receive a junk credit rating after its planned IPO, raising concerns about borrowing costs as the AI company prepares to spend more than $800 billion on computing infrastructure through 2045.
Blackstone Expects Anthropic to Remain Below Investment Grade
During the process of raising money for Anthropic’s AI infrastructure, Blackstone told investors of the revised outlook.
The company estimated it based on advice provided by the world’s leading credit rating agencies, the report said. Anthropic’s double-B rating would make it ineligible for access by some institutional lenders.
A securities rating with speculative grade ratings may have limitations on the investments made by insurance companies and pension funds. Consequently, Anthropic could face higher borrowing costs as it continues financing its computing requirements.
Earlier this month, Anthropic received a BB+ credit rating from KBRA. Before it went public, the company was rated one notch below investment grade by the rating. However, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P have not issued official ratings for Anthropic.
Project North Star Secures $63 Billion in AI Financing
Blackstone’s warning follows the completion of Anthropic’s $63 billion financing arrangement, known as Project North Star.
Financing will enable the leases for 1.5 gigawatts of computing power with Google-designed chips.
Broadcom guarantees more than $42 billion in senior loans, while Anthropic’s lease payments support $18 billion in junior debt.
Blackstone-managed funds invested $9 billion into the junior component, and they are yielding more than 10%.
According to the report, KBRA assigned the junior debt a BB+ rating with a positive outlook. Morningstar DBRS also gave the same financing a BB rating.
Anthropic IPO Could Raise $100 Billion
The credit warning arrives after Anthropic filed its IPO registration statement with the SEC on October 26.
As previously reported on Anthropic’s Nasdaq listing plans, the company intends to trade under the symbol ANT.
Anthropic currently holds more than $112 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to reports. Its prospectus outlines plans to spend over $800 billion on computing infrastructure through 2045.
