BlackRock: Anthropic May Struggle to Secure Investment-Grade Rating Immediately After IPO, Limiting Its Funding Options

According to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter, Blackstone informed investors participating in Anthropic’s latest $63 billion chip funding round that the company is unlikely to receive an investment-grade credit rating immediately following its IPO; instead, it is more likely to be assigned a high-yield (i.e., “junk”) rating—directly contradicting its prior market communication that an investment-grade rating would be achieved by year-end. This rating gap could constrain Anthropic’s funding options: numerous insurance and pension funds face regulatory restrictions preventing large-scale allocations to junk-rated debt. Consequently, the company may need to continue relying on financing support from highly rated suppliers. Its prospectus explicitly outlines plans to invest over $800 billion cumulatively in AI hashrate infrastructure by 2045; obtaining an investment-grade credit rating is a critical prerequisite for this ambitious goal—only then can Anthropic borrow at lower funding costs to finance its massive infrastructure projects. Currently, the company holds over $112 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet; the market broadly expects it to raise approximately $100 billion during its IPO. Under the financing arrangement codenamed “Project North Star,” Broadcom guarantees senior loans exceeding $42 billion; $18 billion in subordinated debt has received a BB+ rating (with a positive outlook) from KBRA and a BB rating from Morningstar DBRS; funds managed by Blackstone have committed $9 billion to this portion of the debt investment, yielding an annualized return of over 10%; as of now, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P Global—the three major international rating agencies—have yet to issue formal credit ratings for Anthropic.