(Aug 18): ByteDance Ltd, the developer of TikTok, has attracted more than US$30 billion (RM121.79 billion) of orders for its jumbo syndicated loan, people familiar with the matter said, indicating strong interest from lenders as the Chinese technology giant ramps up investments in artificial intelligence.
The US$20 billion facility, which ByteDance launched into syndication last month, carries an option to upsize but the company hasn’t made a decision on that yet, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. ByteDance plans to use the new-money loan mainly for general corporate purposes, the people added.
The facility, which would be ByteDance’s largest offshore borrowing, carries a tenor of three years with options to extend to as long as five years.
Beijing-based ByteDance is among a slew of tech companies racing to build up their AI capabilities. The company is weighing plans to boost capital spending to as much as US$70 billion this year — more than double last year’s total — to expand its data centres and other AI infrastructure. It has also discussed increasing that figure to US$100 billion next year if economic and business conditions remain favourable.
Across the broader technology sector, four US hyperscalers — Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc, Microsoft Corp and Meta Platforms Inc — are planning as much as US$725 billion in capital spending this year, largely focused on AI data centre equipment.
ByteDance’s loan has three different commitment levels, the people said. Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners (MLABs) are required to commit at least US$1 billion while the minimum for mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) is US$500 million, they said. Lead arrangers, meanwhile, can participate with commitments of less than US$500 million, they added.
Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are the coordinators for the loan, the people said. The commitment deadline is Aug 19.
A ByteDance spokesperson didn’t offer a comment. Citigroup and JPMorgan declined to comment.
The last time ByteDance tapped the global loan market was in 2024, when it raised US$10.8 billion via more than 20 lenders, comprising international and Chinese banks.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan were the coordinators of that borrowing, the proceeds of which were partly used to refinance a US$5 billion dual-tranche facility raised in 2021.
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