Alphabet eyes inaugural Australian dollar bond, bookrunner’s message says

Alphabet has instructed investment banks to prepare its first-ever Australian dollar bond issue, according to a message from one of the book runners, reviewed by Reuters on Monday. The company is contemplating issuing bonds with maturities of 3, 5, 10, and 20 years. The specifics regarding the amount to be raised or the intended use of the proceeds have not been disclosed. The tech giant has not yet responded to requests for comment.

For the 3- and 5-year bonds, they could be issued with either fixed or floating rates. However, the 10- and 20-year bonds will be issued with fixed rates. Earlier in August, Alphabet raised $25 billion through dollar bonds, following an $85 billion equity capital raise in June. As global tech companies increasingly turn to capital markets to fund their substantial AI investments, Alphabet is among those expected to spend over $730 billion this year, primarily on AI.

This spending is already straining the company's cash flows, as evidenced by its first-ever negative free cash flow in its Q2 report in late July.

Local currency bonds are gaining traction among major issuers as they seek to diversify away from dollar bond transactions. In Australia, local currency bond sales by foreign issuers have reached a record high of approximately A$60 billion ($42 billion) so far this year, marking a roughly 40% increase from the previous year, according to LSEG data tracking international placements up to late July. The lead managers for Alphabet's bond issue include ANZ, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities.