Alphabet eyes inaugural Australian dollar bond, bookrunner's message says (updated)

Royal Bank of Canada

17/08/2026 04:31

 (Adds details from paragraph 3)
    By Scott Murdoch
    SYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet  GOOGL.O  has mandated
investment banks to work on its inaugural Australian dollar bond
issue, according to a message sent by one of the book runners
and reviewed by Reuters on Monday.
    The U.S. tech giant is considering issuing 3-, 5-, 10- and
20-year bonds, it said.
    The message did not outline how much Alphabet could raise in
the transaction or its plans with the proceeds.
    Alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for
comment from Reuters.
    The 3- and 5-year bonds could be issued with fixed or
floating rates, the message said, while the 10- and 20-year
bonds would be issued with fixed rates.
    Alphabet raised $25 billion in dollar bonds earlier in
August following an almost $85 billion equity capital raising in
June.
    Global tech companies are increasingly looking to capital
markets to fund their massive AI spending, after having
typically relied on their large cash reserves to fund
investments.
    The firms are ⁠expected to spend more than $730 billion this
year primarily on AI, and the outlay is already squeezing cash
flows. Alphabet posted its first ever negative free cash flow in
its second-quarter report in late July.
    Local currency bonds are becoming increasingly popular among
some of the world's biggest issuers as they look to diversify
their reliance on dollar bond transactions.
    "Kangaroo" bond sales from foreign issuers in Australian
dollars are at a record high of around A$60 billion ($42
billion) so far this year, up roughly 40% from 2025, LSEG data
tracking internationally placed deals to late July shows.
    ANZ, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities
are joint lead managers on the Alphabet transaction, the book
runner's message said.
    

 (Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and
Sonali Paul)
 ((Scott.Murdoch@thomsonreuters.com;))