A growing group of investment firms and brokers will soon hold stakes in the largest private credit transaction on record - once a portion of the $35 billion financing arrangement covering Broadcom and Anthropic's AI infrastructure endeavor becomes tradeable. This milestone deal could pave the way for similar structures in the AI sector.
Apollo and Blackstone each declined to provide a statement when contacted. According to sources, approximately $24 billion of the total financing is anticipated to be accessed by mid-2027.
The borrower is a special purpose vehicle that buys custom chips designed by Google and Broadcom and subsequently leases them to Anthropic. Broadcom is guaranteeing Anthropic's payments for the senior-most slices of the debt, as Bloomberg earlier reported.
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The innovative financing structure shows how AI companies are getting creative to gather hundreds of billions for building data centers and buying necessary chips. Tech firms are pouring into both public and private lending markets.
The involvement of Apollo and Blackstone, two of the largest private credit managers, highlights the growing role of alternative lenders in financing massive tech infrastructure projects. Traditionally, such large-scale debt would have been syndicated through banks, but private credit markets have become increasingly dominant, especially for complex, customized financings.
Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude model, requires vast computing power. Its partnership with Broadcom and Google ensures a steady supply of custom chips optimized for AI workloads. The special purpose vehicle structure isolates the debt, making it easier for investors to evaluate the risk based on the chip leases and Broadcom's backstop.
The delayed draw feature allows the borrower to minimize interest expenses by accessing funds only when needed, a common practice in project finance. This deal employs a delayed draw structure: the borrower taps the raised funds as needed, across roughly 16 installments over more than a year as chips are delivered, the sources noted.
This financing structure is part of a broader trend where tech companies are tapping private credit markets rather than traditional bank syndications to fund capital-intensive AI infrastructure. The involvement of major alternative lenders like Apollo and Blackstone signals confidence in the long-term demand for specialized AI chips, which are critical for training and running large language models. As the debt moves into the 144a market, it could attract even more institutional capital, further solidifying private credit's role in the AI boom.
The shift to the 144a market is significant because it allows a broader set of institutional investors - such as pension funds and asset managers - to participate, increasing liquidity for these securities. This $35 billion transaction, which stands as the biggest private credit deal ever recorded, underscores the massive capital flows directed toward AI infrastructure and the novel financing mechanisms being employed. As more debt moves into the liquid 144a space, it could attract further investor interest and set a precedent for future AI-related financings.
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