Key Highlights

  • Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Blackstone arranged about USD 35 billion of chip financing for Anthropic, according to the S-1 commentary and published reports. Blackstone is the other arranger.
  • The senior tranche prices at about 5.75% and the junior at about 8.5%, and Broadcom is reported to guarantee the senior notes, so the junior notes carry Anthropic's risk.
  • The junior tranche is about USD 4.4 billion in the filing commentary, so most of the USD 35 billion is protected by the guarantee and by chip lease contracts.
  • Anthropic is rated BB+ by KBRA, one notch below investment grade, and says it may need more financing than planned, which matters for lenders such as Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO).

How the USD 35 Billion Deal Is Built

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) set up a special purpose vehicle that buys chips and leases them to Anthropic, and the lease payments service the debt. Published reports say a senior piece of about USD 6 billion was sold to banks, about USD 24 billion went to asset-backed credit investors at about 5.75%, and the junior piece near USD 4.4 billion priced at about 8.5%. Blackstone (NYSE:BX) arranged the financing alongside Apollo. Reports date the closing to June 9, 2026, so the deal predates the S-1, which made it public on October 26, 2026. The chips are Google's tensor processing units built by Broadcom. Both firms are alternative asset managers.

Why Lenders Accept the Structure

The senior notes are supported by chip leases and, reportedly, by Broadcom covering interest if Anthropic falls short. That lets investors treat part of the risk as Broadcom's and part as Anthropic's. The junior notes earn more because they absorb losses first. For Apollo, the structure produces fee and spread income in a field where banks have pulled back, and the S-1 also shows a separate bank revolver of USD 15 billion. Investors judge such deals by the strength of the tenant, here a company whose Q2 operating income reached USD 974 million. Investors in the senior tranches are therefore exposed first to Broadcom's credit and only second to Anthropic's.

Risks and What to Watch

The main risk is that Anthropic's revenue growth, which slowed from 145% in Q2 to about 45% in Q3, slows further while commitments of about USD 430 billion stay fixed. Spreads on data-centre asset-backed securities are widening, according to Morgan Stanley strategists, and a downgrade or tighter credit could raise financing costs. Anthropic's route to investment grade is likely a 2027 to 2028 matter, in the filing's reading. No forecast is offered for Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO). Other risks include a fall in chip values, since the leased chips are the collateral, and the possibility that technology changes make older chips less valuable than the financing assumes. Lenders will also watch the cloud channel share, which was 48% of first-half 2026 revenue and creates dependency on three platforms.

Where Things Stand

The answer is that Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) acted as the arranger of a leased-chip structure in which senior investors are protected by lease contracts and a reported Broadcom guarantee, while junior investors take Anthropic's credit risk. That is a way of earning spread income from AI demand. The evidence is positive for deal flow and mixed for risk, because spreads are widening and Anthropic is rated BB+. The amended S-1 and Anthropic's pricing around mid-November will show whether lenders keep funding the build. Apollo's own exposure is not stated in the filing commentary.