Anthropic Set to Add Citi as Top IPO Underwriter for Mega Listing

TradingKey - According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, artificial intelligence company Anthropic is advancing its listing preparations and plans to invite Citigroup (C) to join its core initial public offering (IPO) underwriting team. If finalized, Citigroup will join major Wall Street investment banks including Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS), and JPMorgan (JPM) on this highly anticipated IPO project.

Anthropic could file its listing application with regulators as early as late August, according to people familiar with the matter. Discussions are ongoing, the final underwriting lineup has not been finalized, and other banks could still join later. Both Anthropic and Citigroup declined to comment.

For investment banks, securing a core role in a major IPO offers benefits far beyond underwriting fees alone. As lead underwriters, banks typically earn a higher proportion of fees while leveraging landmark transactions to boost their rankings and influence in equity capital markets. Therefore, as Anthropic's listing process progresses, it is hardly surprising that major Wall Street investment banks are actively competing for a spot on the deal.

Citigroup is currently placing particular emphasis on mega-IPO business. So far this year, the bank's ranking in the U.S. IPO underwriting market has improved significantly, buoyed by SpaceX's (SPCX) record $86.2 billion IPO transaction (including overallotments). A successful listing by Anthropic would undoubtedly serve as another key project for major investment banks competing for equity financing business.

Beyond IPO underwriting, Citigroup has already established a financing relationship with Anthropic. Last year, Citigroup participated in a $2.5 billion revolving credit facility provided to Anthropic by a syndicate of banks. As the company's business expands rapidly, its financing needs continue to grow.

People familiar with the matter revealed that Anthropic's existing revolving credit facility is expected to top its target size of around $10 billion, signaling growing market focus on its borrowing capacity and future growth potential.

Anthropic has experienced rapid revenue growth in recent years, becoming one of the most closely watched companies in the generative AI sector among capital market investors. Bloomberg previously reported that based on its current operational performance, the company's annualized revenue could exceed $65 billion, a substantial increase from levels late last year.

Meanwhile, both Anthropic and OpenAI have begun preparations related to listing, with the market expecting Anthropic to potentially hit the public market ahead of OpenAI.