- Stack Infrastructure is seeking an A$8.6 billion loan, about $6 billion, mandating lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners this week for a five-year facility funding its Melbourne data centre project. It would be among the largest financings to the sector in Asia.
- The timing makes it a test rather than a transaction. CoreWeave’s bonds fell to distressed levels on Wednesday with yields above 15%, Nvidia-backed Firmus Grid dropped an IPO seeking as much as $5.5 billion after investors balked at a $30 billion valuation, and AirTrunk is reported to have delayed a Singapore REIT listing until next year.
- The scale of AI borrowing is now substantial. Goldman Sachs reported in September that AI-related debt issuance globally has reached around $578 billion this year, with hyperscalers accounting for 40%. That leaves roughly $347 billion raised by borrowers without hyperscaler balance sheets, which is where the stress is concentrated.
- Stack has been considering a partial or full sale of its assets in Australia, Japan and Malaysia since May, according to Bloomberg, so it is borrowing $6 billion against an Australian project it may be selling.
What Happened?
Stack runs data centres across the Americas, Europe and Asia including Sydney and Melbourne, and is owned by Blue Owl Capital, which acquired it through its takeover of IPI Partners last year. A representative for Stack did not immediately respond and Blue Owl declined to comment. MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities index fell more than 3% on Thursday, led by losses in Seoul, a bellwether for AI investment.
Why It Matters?
The composition of that $578 billion is the figure to hold onto. Hyperscalers have investment-grade balance sheets and operating cash flows that service debt regardless of whether a particular project performs, and they account for 40% of issuance. The remaining $347 billion sits with developers, neoclouds and infrastructure vehicles whose repayment depends on continuing to access credit markets on acceptable terms. CoreWeave is in that cohort and its swaps now price a better-than-even chance of default; Firmus was in it and could not reach public markets at any price; Stack is in it and is asking for $6 billion this week. Treating AI debt as a single category obscures the only distinction that matters. The asset sale detail deserves more attention than it is getting. A company that has been exploring a partial or full sale of its Australian, Japanese and Malaysian assets since May is now raising $6 billion against an Australian project. That is either refinancing ahead of a sale to improve the terms, which is sensible, or an indication the sale has not progressed and the capital is needed regardless. Lenders will want to know which, because the two imply very different things about the equity behind the loan. The geographic spread confirms this is not a US phenomenon. Seoul led Asian equity losses as an AI bellwether, an Australian project is testing Asian debt markets, and a Singapore listing has been postponed. The same repricing is occurring across regions simultaneously, which matters because developers have generally assumed that when one market closes another remains open. This financing is the cleanest available read on whether that still holds, and the spread it clears at will tell you more than any commentary.
What Next?
Whether the loan is syndicated successfully, and at what margin, is the immediate test and the most informative data point available on Asian appetite for AI credit. Watch whether Stack proceeds with the asset sales it has been considering, since that determines what is actually backing the borrowing. For Blue Owl, exposure spans Stack and its backing of Beale Infrastructure, the developer pursuing a $3 billion project in Kansas, so the firm is levered to data centre development through more than one vehicle. CoreWeave’s bonds and credit default swaps remain the live barometer for the sector, and the SpaceX $40 billion raise is the next large test in the US market.
Affected Tickers and Coins: OWL, CRWV, NVDA, DLR
Source: Bloomberg
