Anthropic pre-IPO credit facility may climb $10B

Anthropic PBC is set to increase its revolving credit facility beyond the $10 billion milestone, as the artificial intelligence company prepares for a significant initial public offering. The proposed expansion of the so-called "revolver" has attracted numerous banks eager to secure a spot on the upcoming IPO. Discussions are ongoing, and Anthropic may ultimately limit the size of the revolver to the target or even below that amount.

The AI developer has requested about $1.25 billion from the most active banks, with subsequent banks being encouraged to offer around $1 billion and lower commitments of roughly $750 million and below for less active banks. Bank participation in a large capital market transaction often correlates with higher fees, making a higher-ranking bank a more active player in the deal.

Anthropic's IPO race is reminiscent of SpaceX, which recently increased its revolving credit facility to $5 billion just weeks before its record-breaking IPO. The AI firm's $10 billion-plus lending facility would be a substantial increase from its $2.5 billion five-year facility secured last year. Anthropic is currently working with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan on the IPO.

This lending expansion comes weeks after banks led by Morgan Stanley discussed lining up $15 billion in debt for an Anthropic data-center project in Texas, backed by Alphabet Inc.'s Google.