[Blackstone: Anthropic May Struggle for Investment-Grade Rating After IPO, Financing Sources May Be Limited] Beating AI News reports that, according to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter, Blackstone has informed investors in Anthropic's latest $63 billion chip financing deal that Anthropic may not immediately receive an investment-grade credit rating after its IPO, and is expected to receive a higher-grade non-investment-grade (junk) rating instead. This differs from Blackstone's previous guidance that it would receive an investment-grade rating by the end of the year. This could limit Anthropic's financing sources, as many insurance and pension funds cannot invest heavily in junk borrowers. Anthropic may need to continue relying on high-credit-rating providers for financing. Its prospectus shows that the company plans to invest over $800 billion in computing infrastructure by 2045. Obtaining an investment-grade credit rating is crucial to achieving these goals, as it would allow Anthropic to borrow at lower interest rates to fund its artificial intelligence infrastructure projects. The group has over $112 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and investors expect it to raise approximately $100 billion in its IPO. In the "Project North Star" funding round, over $42 billion in senior loans were guaranteed by Broadcom. $18 billion in subordinated debt has received a BB+ rating with a positive outlook from KBRA and a BB rating from Morningstar DBRS. Blackstone funds invested $9 billion in the debt, yielding a return of over 10%. Fitch, Moody's, and S&P have not yet officially assigned credit ratings to Anthropic. [Original Link]