Alphabet to Issue First Aussie-Denominated Bond Amid AI Spending Boom

Alphabet, the US tech giant behind Google, is planning to issue its first Australian dollar-denominated bond. The company has mandated investment banks to work on the transaction, which could raise between AU$3 billion and AU$60 billion for Alphabet.

The tech firm is considering issuing four types of bonds: three-year, five-year, 10-year, and 20-year notes. While the shorter-term bonds can have fixed or floating interest rates, the longer-term bonds will be issued with fixed rates.

This move comes as global tech companies increasingly rely on capital markets to fund their massive artificial intelligence spending. Alphabet recently raised $25 billion in dollar bonds in August and $85 billion through equity capital raising in June.

Local currency bond sales from foreign issuers have reached a record high of around AU$60 billion this year, up 40% from the same period last year, according to LSEG data. ANZ, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities are joint lead managers on the Alphabet transaction.