Anthropic may not secure investment-grade rating after IPO, Blackstone says

Blackstone has warned investors that Anthropic may emerge from its planned IPO with a high-yield, or “junk,” credit rating rather than the investment-grade status it had previously expected. Guidance from major rating agencies points toward a rating around double B, which would make borrowing more expensive and restrict access to insurers and pension funds that limit holdings of below-investment-grade debt. That matters because Anthropic’s prospectus envisages more than $800bn in computing infrastructure spending through 2045. The company has over $112bn in cash and may raise about $100bn in its IPO, but its longer-term plans depend on continued access to large-scale financing.

The warning came as Blackstone helped arrange Project North Star, a $63bn financing package for Anthropic to lease 1.5 gigawatts of Google chips. More than $42bn in senior loans is guaranteed by investment-grade chip partner Broadcom, while $18bn in junior debt depends on Anthropic’s lease payments and bears greater risk. Blackstone funds bought $9bn of that junior debt, which yields more than 10 per cent. Kroll rated the junior debt double B plus with a positive outlook, and Morningstar DBRS assigned double B; the major agencies Fitch, Moody’s and S&P have not formally rated Anthropic. If the company cannot secure investment grade, it may need to keep relying on creditworthy suppliers such as Broadcom to support future borrowing.