Goldman Sachs and Apollo Global Management are in talks with investors to sell portions of around $40 billion in financing intended to purchase chips and related equipment for SpaceX. The information was reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Reuters in a report citing the publication.
The deal is structured as multi-tranche financing. According to Bloomberg, potential buyers were approached even before the official start of the syndication, with portions of up to $500 million being discussed in some cases. Syndication involves distributing the loan and bonds among a larger number of banks and investment funds.
The official process is expected to begin shortly. The talks are taking place against the backdrop of investors’ more cautious attitude toward financing artificial intelligence computing infrastructure, where spending on chips, electricity and data centers is rising rapidly.
How the Financing Is Structured
Under the arrangement, a special-purpose vehicle managed by Atlas SP and backed by Apollo is expected to purchase Nvidia chips and lease them to SpaceX under a finance lease. The structure has been designed so that the liability will not be reported directly on the balance sheet of the aerospace and technology company.
According to data cited by Bloomberg, the financing includes an $8.3 billion credit tranche to be distributed among banks, as well as several bond tranches for asset managers. Goldman Sachs is leading the credit component, while Apollo is a key investor in the bonds. Pacific Investment Management Co. is also participating in the deal.
The documents provide for the loan proceeds, together with a $7 billion lease prepayment, to be used for equipment worth around $47.3 billion. Deliveries of the graphics processors are scheduled for the first half of 2027.
SpaceX Expands Its Computing Infrastructure Business
On October 26, SpaceX announced that it had committed to a finance lease for graphics processors and related equipment worth approximately $40 billion. The company said that next-generation Nvidia Vera Rubin chips would be used to build ground-based computing infrastructure. The deal is expected to close, subject to certain conditions, before the end of 2026, with lease payments beginning upon delivery.
“This lease transaction diversifies our sources of financing,” said SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Brett Johnson.According to Reuters, Apollo will acquire the chips and server equipment and then lease them to SpaceX. The company will make payments under a five-year agreement, with no guarantee regarding the residual value of the equipment. This transfers part of the risk related to the future price and technological usefulness of the chips to lenders and investors.
The next key step is the official distribution of the financing among market participants. Whether the entire package will be placed, and on what terms, will become clear once the syndication begins.
Sources: rbc.ru, uk.finance.yahoo.com, investing.com