London: Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is planning to sell a rare 100-year bond in the sterling market as part of a large multi-currency debt raise, according to market reports.
The proposed century bond is expected to be limited to £1 billion, following strong investor demand for Alphabet’s recent bond issuance.
Earlier this week, Alphabet sold $20 billion in US dollar bonds, after increasing the size of the deal from an initially planned $15 billion. The sale attracted more than $100 billion in investor orders, making it heavily oversubscribed.
Following the strong demand, the company is now preparing to issue debt across multiple currencies, including sterling. A bond sale in Swiss francs is also expected.
If completed, the 100-year bond would be the first century bond issued by a technology company since 1997, when Motorola last offered a similar instrument.
The US dollar bond sale was divided into seven tranches, with the longest maturity being a 40-year bond due in 2066. The strongest investor interest was seen in shorter-term bonds, particularly the three-year notes.
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are managing Alphabet’s bond offerings across the different currencies.
Funding AI expansion
Alphabet’s borrowing comes as the company increases spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company recently announced AI capital expenditure of more than $185 billion, nearly double the previous year, to support its Gemini platform and cloud services.
As a result, Alphabet’s long-term debt rose to $46.5 billion in 2025, up sharply from earlier years. The company also holds more than $125 billion in cash, according to disclosures.
Other major technology firms are also raising large amounts of debt. Last week, Oracle raised $25 billion through a bond sale that attracted record demand.
Morgan Stanley estimates that major technology companies could borrow around $400 billion in 2026, more than double the amount raised in 2025. This could push total issuance of high-grade US corporate bonds to a record $2.25 trillion next year.
