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Atlas Energy Signs AI Data Center Power Deals, Stock Jumps 13%
Atlas Energy Solutions Inc shares jumped 13% in premarket trading Friday after the company signed power equipment deals with a leading frontier AI lab for data center projects. Two wholly owned subsidiaries executed separate cost reimbursement agreements with the AI lab alongside equipment purchase agreements to secure long-lead-time supporting equipment and incremental power generation equipment for specific data center projects. The first cost reimbursement agreement covers balance-of-plant equipment, including emissions control systems, electrical distribution equipment, battery energy storage systems, and other supporting infrastructure to support deployment of Atlas' existing generator orders under its previously announced Global Framework Agreement with Caterpillar Inc. The second cost reimbursement agreement supports an incremental 283 megawatts of purchase commitments for Caterpillar power generation equipment to facilitate the initial power ramp of a separate data center project, in addition to Atlas's obligations under the GFA with Caterpillar. Atlas also executed a purchase agreement for 328 megawatts of generating capacity, consistent with its obligations under the GFA for 2027 deliveries. President and CEO John Turner said the customer's willingness to enter into cost reimbursement agreements is a clear sign of commitment to these projects as the companies work toward execution of long-term power purchase agreements.
Nscale Raises $3.36B in Pre-IPO Convertible Financing Led by Third Point
Nscale Limited, the full-stack AI cloud platform, announced a $3.36bn raise through convertible loan notes led by Third Point. The round drew support from new and existing investors including NVIDIA, funds managed by Apollo, Citadel, Hudson Bay Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, and 8090 Industries, along with Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Qube Research & Technologies, Context Capital Management, Longaeva Partners L.P., Wellington Management, Castleknight, Ghisallo Capital Management, LionTree Investment Fund, L.P., Javelin Venture Partners, and Irving Investors. The financing consists of an initial $2.36bn tranche at closing and an additional $1bn commitment from NVIDIA, with that funding expected in mid-November, 2026. The loan notes convert automatically into ordinary shares, or non-voting shares in the case of NVIDIA, upon completion of Nscale's initial public offering. Nscale said the capital will accelerate expansion of its vertically integrated AI cloud platform, spanning behind-the-meter power plants, liquid cooled AI data centers, and large-scale GPU clusters, against total contracted value of over $103bn. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as placement agent for the raise.
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TISCO Says Era of Capital Competition Will Keep Interest Rates High Through 2028
The TISCO Economic and Strategic Analysis Center, or TISCO ESU, assesses that global financial markets are entering a phase of capital competition, as governments around the world need to borrow heavily to expand defense budgets while private-sector big tech and hyperscaler firms seek to raise enormous sums to accelerate the buildout of data center infrastructure, chip fabrication plants, AI facilities, and power plants. This is pushing interest rates and government bond yields up by roughly 0.60 to 0.90 percent. Komson Prapakpol, head of the TISCO Economic and Strategic Analysis Center, said the United States plans to expand its defense budget from 1 trillion dollars to 1.5 trillion dollars, an increase of 50 percent, while Japan aims to raise defense spending from below 2 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP, the highest level since the period from 1970 to 1980. Germany and France are also accelerating increases in their security budgets. Thanaphat Thanachat, an analyst at TISCO ESU, said the United States has public debt exceeding 100 percent of GDP, or more than 40 trillion dollars, and a fiscal deficit as high as 6 percent of GDP per year, driving its interest burden to double that of four to five years ago. France's public debt has risen by nearly 20 percent of GDP between 2019 and 2025, with an annual deficit of 5 percent of GDP. As for the interest rate path of the three major central banks, TISCO ESU expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates one more time, by about 0.25 percent, at its December meeting, ending at 4.25 percent, and to hold at that level through 2027 before cutting in 2028. The European Central Bank is expected to raise rates one more time, by about 0.25 percent, in December, while the Bank of Japan is expected to gradually keep raising rates until they reach 1.75 percent in mid-2027. The yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds is expected in the base case to hold steady at 5 percent through the end of 2026, but if the Federal Reserve fails to control inflation, the worst case could see the bond yield rise to 6 percent.
