The bank is taking offers for a dozen loans via a so-called bids-wanted-in-competition process, the people added, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The loans for sale include a US$25 million slice backing a massive data centre site that’s part of OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp and Oracle Corp’s joint Stargate project in New Mexico. It’s the location where Oracle sent the developer a notice citing force majeure. 

A representative for ING declined to comment.

It is also looking to offload debt tied to operators such as Vantage Data Centers and CyrusOne, said the people. Bids on the loans are due Nov 19 and must be at least US$10 million in size, they added.

The auction, among the first of its kind that exclusively contains data centre debt, underscores the market pessimism that has erupted over the AI buildout in the wake of the US elections. In Texas, where many developers have a presence, the Democratic governor-elect has called for an immediate moratorium on construction for the projects.

The Nasdaq 100 closed 6.4% lower Thursday, wiping out US$2.3 trillion in value and extending weeks of concerns from Wall Street investors who have been retreating from the AI trade. In the high-yield market, junk bonds tied to data centre developers or projects, including CoreWeave Inc and Galaxy Digital Inc, saw some of the biggest declines.

Wall Street is broadly contending with the risk that the credit market is nearing the limit for how much AI debt it can absorb amid questions of whether revenue can justify the breathtaking spending.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Apollo Global Management Inc are looking to syndicate portions of the largest chip financing on record tied to SpaceX, Bloomberg reported this week. They committed to the deal in October before pricing it, and now face the prospect of the market turning against them.

Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy