A Norwegian data center company with crypto industry DNA just broke records in the Nordic bond market. PolarDC closed an €800 million ($930 million) senior secured bond deal in late May, making it the largest high-yield issuance the Nordic market has ever seen.
The proceeds will fund construction of two new AI and high-performance computing data centers in Norway, while also refinancing existing debt.
From crypto roots to AI infrastructure
PolarDC was launched in 2024 by the Lian Group, which has direct exposure to the crypto industry through investments in Bitfury and previous cryptomining activities.
H.I.G. Infrastructure acquired a controlling stake in PolarDC in 2024 and has invested €146 million to date, with an additional €97 million in committed equity alongside the bond issuance. The company’s CEO, Andy Hayes, called the financing “a pivotal moment” that will allow PolarDC to scale into one of Europe’s leading data center platforms.
Why Norway, and why now
PolarDC’s strategic bet is built on Norway’s abundant hydroelectric power. The company has already locked in secured grid connections for its new facilities.
The tenant roster tells you everything about the caliber of demand PolarDC is capturing. Crusoe, the US-based AI cloud computing company, holds a 12 MW lease with expansion potential at PolarDC’s operational facility in Drangedal. CoreWeave, the Nasdaq-listed GPU cloud provider, has signed a 15-year contract with a 10-year extension option for facilities on the Herøya site near a Google data center.
The bigger picture for crypto-adjacent infrastructure
The US has already seen over $26 billion in bond issuance for AI data center projects. PolarDC’s record bond deal suggests European capital markets are now ready to underwrite AI infrastructure at serious scale.
CoreWeave itself started as a crypto mining operation before pivoting entirely to GPU cloud computing for AI. Now it’s one of PolarDC’s anchor tenants.
The floating-rate structure of PolarDC’s bond means bondholders are protected against rate increases but also exposed to potential rate cuts reducing their yield.