Riot Platforms locked in a $9.1 billion Anthropic deal, but its bridge loan expires before the rent starts
Riot Platforms has secured up to $573 million of interim financing for the $9.1 billion data-center lease tied to Anthropic, but the facility matures about a year before the Bitcoin miner expects the project to start generating rent.
Earlier this month, Riot disclosed that it had secured a 20-year lease for 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas, campus, describing the tenant only as a “leading frontier AI lab.”
However, CNBC and other reports subsequently identified the customer as Anthropic, the developer of Claude. Riot has not publicly named the tenant.
The first 96 MW is scheduled for delivery in December 2027, with the remaining 95 MW expected by June 2028. Riot estimates the initial lease will generate about $9.1 billion through June 2048, with two five-year extensions potentially lifting the total contract value to $16.1 billion.
However, funding that buildout requires a much earlier capital commitment.
Notably, a Riot subsidiary entered into a senior secured delayed-draw facility administered by Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, providing access to up to $573 million for long-lead equipment and other initial development costs.
The borrowings will mature on Dec. 31, 2026, roughly 12 months before the first Anthropic capacity is due online.
The delayed-draw structure means the $573 million represents available borrowing rather than cash Riot has already received.
Riot has described the facility as interim financing while it finalizes an investment-grade credit backstop. The company has not disclosed the backstop provider, committed amount, or binding terms, leaving the financing handoff as a key execution point before the bridge matures.
Meanwhile, the broader capital requirement for the AI infrastructure is substantially larger. Riot estimates the Rockdale project will cost between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion and expects debt financing to cover roughly $1.7 billion to $2.1 billion under an assumed 80% to 90% loan-to-cost structure.
Borrowings under the Morgan Stanley facility carry adjusted term SOFR plus 2.75%, or a defined base rate plus 1.75%, alongside other customary fees. The debt is secured primarily by assets of the project borrower and specified credit parties, with generally no recourse to Riot Platforms itself.
The disclosed collateral does not identify Bitcoin. Data from BitcoinTreasuries.net shows that the miner currently holds around 11,380 BTC, making it one of the largest public holders of the top crypto.
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