The lender with $9 billion riding on Anthropic just changed its story. Blackstone now expects the company behind Claude to get a junk credit rating after its record IPO, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
Earlier, Blackstone told investors the opposite. It expected an investment-grade rating by year-end. That rating decides how cheaply Anthropic can borrow for a spending plan worth more than $800 billion.
Why One Letter Grade Moves Billions
A credit rating is a report card for borrowers. BBB- is the pass mark. Anything below it is called junk.
Many pension funds and insurers face caps on holding junk debt. Fewer lenders means higher interest.
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) gave Anthropic a BB+ in June, one notch below the line, as BeInCrypto covered in Anthropic’s junk rating. Blackstone now expects a BB-range grade from the big agencies, based on their feedback, the Times reported.
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Who Is Holding the Risk?
The answer sits inside Project North Star, Anthropic’s $63 billion chip financing. Over $42 billion of its loans carry a guarantee from Broadcom, an investment-grade chipmaker.
The other $18 billion rests on Anthropic alone. Blackstone funds took about $9 billion of that slice, at yields above 10%.
Can $112 Billion in Cash Fix the Problem?
Anthropic holds more than $112 billion in cash. Investors expect the IPO to raise roughly $100 billion more. Its prospectus calls the compute plan “bold but sane,” according to the FT.
SpaceX won investment grade from all three big agencies days after its June IPO. In September, BeInCrypto reported that agencies still saw Anthropic as speculative-grade, even as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley pushed for investment grade.
Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P have not ruled yet. Their verdict after the Nasdaq debut, expected by late November, will decide what Anthropic pays to borrow for its build-out.
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