据知情人士透露，数据中心公司 Stack Infrastructure Inc. 正在寻求一笔金额为 86 亿澳元（约合 60 亿美元）的贷款。在人们对人工智能（AI）相关投资的担忧日益加剧的背景下，这笔贷款将极大地考验该地区投资者对 AI 相关债务的接受程度。
Data center company Stack Infrastructure Inc. is seeking an A$8.6 billion ($6 billion) loan, a person familiar with the matter said, in what would be a major test of investor sentiment toward AI debt in the region at a time of mounting concerns.
该人士表示，Stack 已委托多家金融机构担任此次五年期贷款的牵头安排人、承销商及簿记管理人；这笔贷款很可能是亚洲数据中心行业规模最大的融资项目之一。所筹集的资金将用于 Stack 在墨尔本的数据中心建设项目。
The company this week mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners for the five-year loan, possibly among the biggest financings to the sector in Asia, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Proceeds will fund Stack’s data center project in Melbourne, the person said.
Stack 的相关负责人尚未立即回应记者的评论请求；而持有 Stack 股权的另类资产管理公司 Blue Owl Capital Inc. 也拒绝置评。
A representative from Stack didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital Inc., which owns Stack, declined to comment.
Stack 的这一融资计划出台之际，投资者对人工智能行业的信心正在下降，这导致了本周股市和债券市场的抛售潮。与人工智能相关的债务和投资项目激起了人们的担忧：随着企业借贷规模的扩大，其投资回报可能无法与所承担的高风险相匹配。
Stack’s plan comes amid growing investor skepticism toward the artificial intelligence sector that’s fueled a selloff in both equities and bond markets this week. The deluge of debt and investments tied to AI has sparked worries that the returns may not be commensurate to the massive exposure of companies as the borrowing binge drives up costs.
根据高盛集团（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）9 月份发布的报告，今年全球范围内与人工智能相关的债务发行总额已达到约 5780 亿美元。其中，拥有大规模计算基础设施的大型数据中心企业（即“超大规模数据中心运营商”）占据了债务发行总额的 40%。
MSCI Inc.’s Asia Pacific equities index fell more than 3% on Thursday, led by losses in Seoul — a bellwether for AI investment. Meanwhile, bonds of AI cloud-computing provider CoreWeave Inc. tumbled on Wednesday to levels that signal distress and the yields exceeded 15%. AI-related debt issuance globally has reached around $578 billion this year, according to a report by Goldman Sachs Group Inc in September.
尽管许多数据中心运营商仍主要通过债务来获取资金，但也有一些公司已经取消了融资计划。例如，由英伟达（Nvidia Corp.）支持的 Firmus Grid Ltd. 本月取消了首次公开募股（IPO）计划，原本计划筹集 55 亿美元的资金，但由于投资者对其估值（高达 300 亿美元）感到不满，该计划最终被取消。
Hyperscalers — the large-scale data centers that have massive computing infrastructure — account for 40% of the overall debt issuance, it said. While many data center operators continue to seek financing mostly through debt, there are some that have pulled fundraising plans. Nvidia Corp.-backed Firmus Grid Ltd. dropped an initial public offering this month to raise as much as $5.5 billion after investors balked at its steep increase in valuation to $30 billion.
数据中心公司AirTrunk因利率上升和市场波动导致投资者需求减弱，被报道称将其计划在新加坡进行的房地产投资信托基金IPO推迟至明年。
Data center firm AirTrunk was reported to delay its planned IPO of a real estate investment trust in Singapore until next year as higher interest rates and market volatility temper investor demand.
根据其网站信息，Stack在美洲、欧洲和亚洲运营数据中心，包括澳大利亚的悉尼和墨尔本。Blue Owl去年在收购IPI Partners LLC的过程中收购了该运营商。
Stack runs data centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, according to its website. Blue Owl acquired the operator as part of its takeover of IPI Partners LLC last year.
根据彭博社5月的一份报道，总部位于科罗拉多州丹佛的公司计划进行的借款正值该公司考虑部分或全部出售其在澳大利亚、日本和马来西亚的资产之际。
The Denver, Colorado-based firm’s planned borrowing comes as the company is considering a partial or full sale of its assets in Australia, Japan and Malaysia, according to a Bloomberg report in May.