ANALYSIS — Market selloff, rising rates test AI data centre deal boom

Pulled listings signal tougher funding conditions Investors question valuations as borrowing costs rise Bain draws BDC bids; AirTrunk nears Johor sale, sources say By Yantoultra Ngui, Kane Wu and Clare Jim HONG KONG, Oct 15 (Reuters) — A market selloff is forcing companies driving the global AI boom to delay fundraising plans or pay more for capital as investors demand proof they can absorb rising interest rates and computing-power costs. The shift comes as investors reassess whether the companies racing to build the infrastructure underpinning artificial intelligence can generate returns that justify soaring spending on computing power, land and energy. In the past week alone, as AI-related stocks have weakened and the debt of data-centre operator CoreWeave has slumped towards distressed prices, listings for a Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT, Nvidia-backed Firmus and SoftBank-backed SB Energy have either been pulled or paused. The increased scrutiny is not derailing investment in the sector, analysts said, but it is forcing investors to distinguish more sharply between business models and levels of execution risk. "The conversation has shifted from growth at any cost to a much sha