Alphabet’s ‘unprecedented’ $80 billion stock sale: Goldman’s Gutman

AlphabetThe company’s plan to sell $80 billion in shares to fund its AI commitments leaves markets in “unprecedented territory,” Anthony Gutman, co-chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs International, told CNBC in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Google’s parent company said Monday that its equity offerings would include a $10 billion allocation to Greg Abel’s Berkshire Hathaway to “fund investments in world-class AI computing infrastructure to meet unprecedented customer demand.”

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase And Morgan Stanley They act as joint book-running managers for underwritten offerings. Goldman is also serving as placement agent for the private placement.

“Let’s start by saying this is unprecedented territory, so we’re all going into it with a certain amount of humility and caution and the right balance of focus,” Gutman told CNBC’s Carolin Roth on Wednesday morning’s European Early Edition. “Yesterday’s launch of Alphabet bodes well for the pipeline. This was a record issuance at any level.”

Gutman said there was “a lot of demand” for significant stock issuance and that as a percentage of total stock market capitalization it seemed “very manageable.”

This comes at a time when capital markets look set for a record year of mega IPOs looming.

SpaceX’s highly anticipated IPO on June 12 may be the largest IPO in history. Elon Musk’s firm is targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation on Nasdaq.

Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic have also announced their intention to go public later this year.

“We’re excited about this. These are phenomenal companies, so if they’re on the right track, they should be able to raise this capital,” Gutman added.