Alphabet, Google parent, plans rare 100-year bond sale, first by a tech company in three decades: What this ‘Far and Wide’ borrowing means – The Times of India
Google parent Alphabet is selling a rare 100-year bond in British pounds as part of a massive multi-currency debt raise, making it the first tech company to attempt a century bond since IBM did it back in 1996.The so-called century bond will be part of Alphabet’s debut sterling issuance, according to the Financial Times. Alongside it, the company is raising $20 billion through a US dollar bond sale—upsized from the originally planned $15 billion after orders crossed $100 billion, Bloomberg reported. A Swiss franc bond sale is also in the works.The dollar portion of the deal spans up to seven tranches. Its longest slice—a 40-year bond maturing in 2066—is expected to price at around 0.95 percentage points above US Treasuries, tighter than the initial talk of 1.2 percentage points. Demand was strongest at the short end, with a three-year tranche pricing at just 0.27 percentage points over Treasuries.
Why Alphabet is borrowing across currencies and continents
A banker close to the deal told FT that issuing across multiple currencies helps Alphabet diversify its investor base, especially as Big Tech’s capital needs keep ballooning. Sticking to dollar markets alone could create a supply-demand imbalance, the banker noted. Sterling markets also offer a lower interest rate compared to dollar bonds, making the century bond more cost-effective.The borrowing spree comes just days after Alphabet said it could spend up to $185 billion on capex this year—roughly double last year’s total—to fuel its AI ambitions around Gemini and cloud infrastructure. The company’s long-term debt has already quadrupled to $46.5 billion in 2025, though it still sits on $126.8 billion in cash.
A record year for Big Tech debt is just getting started
Alphabet isn’t alone. Oracle raised $25 billion from a bond sale last week that pulled in a record $129 billion in orders. Morgan Stanley expects hyperscalers to borrow $400 billion this year, up from $165 billion in 2025, according to Bloomberg—a surge that could push overall high-grade US corporate bond issuance to a record $2.25 trillion.Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are managing Alphabet’s bond sales across all three currencies.