AI bonds are here: Europe's first data center securitization is a huge success

Sabadell participates in a €720 million asset-backed digital debt placement from the Vantage Group. Demand is multiplying supply.

A new asset class has just emerged in the eurozone market, after the Vantage Group successfully completed the securitization of €720 million of debt associated with four data centers in Germany , in a transaction that brings the world of artificial intelligence (AI) closer to bondholders.

These first euro "AI bonds" have an average annual coupon of 4.3% , below the implicit cost they should assume in light of the S&P ratings of A- and BBB- for the two tranches of the issue. The data centers, located in Berlin and Frankfurt, have an estimated value of 928 million euros, giving them a leverage ratio of 78%.

Investors have flocked to the offer (the debt is 2 to 4 times the amount offered, depending on the tranche), despite the modest profitability and high debt ratio , attracted by a product that combines the characteristics of a real estate asset with the prospects for AI development . Most of the securities are guaranteed by the future income the centers will earn from leasing to large technology companies.

Everything indicates that this type of financing will be replicated in other countries such as Spain , where Vantage itself and other companies plan large investments in data centers. Banco Sabadell was among the underwriters of the securities. The coordinators were Barclays and Deutsche Bank , and other participants in the transaction included ING, Natixis, ABN Amro, SMBC, and Société Générale.

Vantage has already securitized its British data centers in pounds sterling . But this market is developing rapidly in the United States.

By 2025, according to Goldman Sachs, bond issuance backed by American data centers could reach $15 billion , despite a poor start to the year due to the uncertainty generated by DeepSeek regarding future investments in these assets.

In the short term, Goldman believes this asset appears safe, given the significant investments planned by major technology groups such as Meta and Microsoft , the demand for data center space, and the apparent support of the Donald Trump administration. But by the end of this decade, "supply could outstrip demand," which would raise concerns among investors in the sector.