Key Takeaways
- • Blackstone told investors on October 30, 2026 that Anthropic should expect a "high double-B" rating from Moody's, S&P, and Fitch after its Nasdaq debut, reversing earlier guidance that it would reach investment-grade status by year-end 2026.
- • Anthropic's junior-tranche debt in the $63B Project North Star deal is pricing above 10%, up from roughly 8.5% on a comparable tranche six months earlier, according to the article.
- • KBRA assigned Anthropic a BB+ issuer rating in June 2026, one notch below investment grade, a rating the company had not disclosed publicly, per the article.
- • The senior tranche of more than $42B relies on Broadcom's A-minus guarantee rather than Anthropic's credit, so the deal's investment-grade eligibility depends on Broadcom remaining strong.
- • Blackstone committed $9B of its own funds to the junior tranche, and the article notes that the $1.5-2 trillion IPO valuation has not fully absorbed the cost of Anthropic's $518B+ compute commitments.
Summary
Anthropic's junior-tranche debt is now pricing at speculative-grade yields above 10%, according to the Tech Times report. The shift follows Blackstone's October 30 guidance to investors that the AI company should expect a "high double-B" rating from Moody's, S&P, and Fitch following its Nasdaq debut. The guidance reverses an earlier assurance that Anthropic would achieve investment-grade status by year-end 2026. The article also reports that Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned Anthropic a BB+ issuer rating in June 2026, during the $35B Project Big Sky chip-financing round, a rating the company had not disclosed publicly.
For the $63B Project North Star deal, which closed October 26 alongside Anthropic's public S-1 filing, the $18B junior tranche was not backstopped by Broadcom's A-minus guarantee and priced at yields exceeding 10%. Blackstone anchored that tranche with $9B of its own funds. The article says the junior tranche priced at roughly 8.5% six months earlier, a 150-basis-point widening it attributes to the credit market assigning higher distress probability to Anthropic's standalone credit.
The article explains the practical consequence of a double-B rating. Pension funds, insurers, and most sovereign wealth funds are restricted from holding sub-investment-grade securities, which leaves high-yield funds, hedge funds, and credit-oriented private equity as the reachable buyers. The senior tranche of more than $42B is structured as an SPV that leases Google TPUs to Anthropic, with Broadcom guaranteeing residual value, which makes it eligible for institutional buyers. The article notes this depends on Broadcom's own credit, citing reported Broadcom exposure to Anthropic of $102B and a record 122-basis-point credit default swap spread in August 2026.
KBRA's June rating relied on a "risk score" that estimated cash-flow proxies from quarterly revenue and annualized adjusted operating income, rather than the full financial model used in conventional ratings. The article says Anthropic's S-1 shows $6.2B in total debt as of June 30, 2026, mostly Amazon convertible notes, and includes a covenant that would release collateral on a credit facility if it achieved investment-grade ratings from at least two of the big three agencies. The article reports first-half 2026 revenue of $16.3B and approximately $16.8B in Q3.
The IPO roadshow is expected to begin the week of November 16, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley leading the underwriting syndicate and a Nasdaq ticker of ANT. Cambridge Associates has said tight credit spreads "offer little protection" if AI optimism fades. The article also notes that OpenAI's fundraising round reportedly shrank from $30B at a $1.4 trillion valuation to $20B at $1.25 trillion in the same week. It further reports that PGIM has capped AI collateral at 15% in its CLOs.
For the $63B Project North Star deal, which closed October 26 alongside Anthropic's public S-1 filing, the $18B junior tranche was not backstopped by Broadcom's A-minus guarantee and priced at yields exceeding 10%. Blackstone anchored that tranche with $9B of its own funds. The article says the junior tranche priced at roughly 8.5% six months earlier, a 150-basis-point widening it attributes to the credit market assigning higher distress probability to Anthropic's standalone credit.
The article explains the practical consequence of a double-B rating. Pension funds, insurers, and most sovereign wealth funds are restricted from holding sub-investment-grade securities, which leaves high-yield funds, hedge funds, and credit-oriented private equity as the reachable buyers. The senior tranche of more than $42B is structured as an SPV that leases Google TPUs to Anthropic, with Broadcom guaranteeing residual value, which makes it eligible for institutional buyers. The article notes this depends on Broadcom's own credit, citing reported Broadcom exposure to Anthropic of $102B and a record 122-basis-point credit default swap spread in August 2026.
KBRA's June rating relied on a "risk score" that estimated cash-flow proxies from quarterly revenue and annualized adjusted operating income, rather than the full financial model used in conventional ratings. The article says Anthropic's S-1 shows $6.2B in total debt as of June 30, 2026, mostly Amazon convertible notes, and includes a covenant that would release collateral on a credit facility if it achieved investment-grade ratings from at least two of the big three agencies. The article reports first-half 2026 revenue of $16.3B and approximately $16.8B in Q3.
The IPO roadshow is expected to begin the week of November 16, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley leading the underwriting syndicate and a Nasdaq ticker of ANT. Cambridge Associates has said tight credit spreads "offer little protection" if AI optimism fades. The article also notes that OpenAI's fundraising round reportedly shrank from $30B at a $1.4 trillion valuation to $20B at $1.25 trillion in the same week. It further reports that PGIM has capped AI collateral at 15% in its CLOs.
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