(Feb 10): Alphabet Inc is selling sterling- and Swiss franc-denominated bonds for the first time, including an ultra-rare issue of a 100-year note, following a bumper US$20 billion deal in the US.
Google’s parent company is offering five tranches each of sterling and Swiss franc notes, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. The 100-year sterling bond is the first sale of such long-dated debt by a technology firm since the dot-com era.
The sterling issue includes tenors of three to 32 years as well as the 100-year bond. The Swiss franc deal includes maturities of three, six, 10, 15 and 25-year bonds. Both deals are expected to price later today (Feb 10), the people said.
On Monday (Feb 9), Alphabet raised US$20 billion in a seven-part dollar debt sale, exceeding earlier expectations for a US$15 billion deal. The offering attracted more than US$100 billion of orders at its peak — among the strongest ever for a corporate bond offering.
The mega debt deal comes less than a week after Alphabet said its capital expenditures will reach as much as US$185 billion this year — double what it spent last year — to finance its ambitions in artificial intelligence.
Other tech firms including Meta Platforms Inc and Microsoft Corp have also announced huge spending plans for 2026 while Morgan Stanley expects borrowing by the massive cloud-computing companies known as hyperscalers to reach US$400 billion this year, up from US$165 billion in 2025.
See also: Yen carry trade a ‘ticking time bomb’, warns BCA Research
Those massive borrowing needs have started to raise concerns about potential pressure on bond valuations.
Alphabet’s 100-year note is the first sale with such an extreme maturity by a technology firm since Motorola sold this type of debt in 1997, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The market for 100-year bonds is dominated by governments and institutions like universities. For corporates, potential acquisitions, outdated business models and technological obsolescence make such deals a rarity.
Still, demand from UK pension funds and insurers has made the sterling market a go-to venue for issuers seeking longer-dated funding.
See also: Hedge funds boost Aussie long positions as RBA keeps tightening
Global corporates have also been turning to the Swiss franc bond market in recent years to diversify their debt-raising programmes. In 2025, US firms including Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc sold Swiss franc debt.
Alphabet tapped the euro bond market as recently as November, raising €6.5 billion. That deal, added to an issue earlier in the year, made it the biggest borrower in the euro market in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
