KB Kookmin to lead 10.7 trillion won loan for Naver AI project

KB Kookmin secured the mandate to lead a 10.7 trillion won syndicated loan, equivalent to $8 billion, for the Brookfield-backed project serving Naver Cloud.[1] The Korea Herald valued the overall project at about 13 trillion won, while Yonhap put it at about 12.6 trillion won.[1][2] Yonhap reported that about 10.7 trillion won of project funding would come from loans.[2] KB Kookmin called the deal South Korea’s first GPU financing and its largest-ever syndicated loan arrangement.[1] It will oversee financing, structure the loan and negotiate key terms.[1] The bank said domestic banks and securities firms are participating, but did not identify the lender group or disclose terms.[1]

Brookfield plans to establish a special-purpose company tentatively named Asset Co. to acquire GPUs and other AI computing assets.[1] Asset Co. would supply computing capacity to Naver Cloud under a long-term agreement.[1] The planned division of roles puts ownership of GPUs and data-center infrastructure with Asset Co., while Naver Cloud would operate the AI factory and sell computing services to customers.[1] Naver has said usage fees would be tied to AI factory business revenue to reduce the upfront investment burden.[1] That structure makes the expected service-fee stream, as well as the assets themselves, relevant to the financing arrangement.[1]

Naver, Nvidia and Brookfield announced plans in July for a $10 billion AI factory project.[1] Brookfield agreed to provide up to $9 billion for the infrastructure, and Nvidia planned a $1 billion strategic investment in Naver.[1] Naver said its $9 billion agreement with Brookfield met a precondition for Nvidia’s investment.[3] If completed, Nvidia’s investment would make it Naver’s third-largest shareholder.[1] The project is centered on Naver’s GAK Sejong hyperscale data center.[1] Naver’s targets call for 55 megawatts in the first half of 2027, 100 megawatts by year-end and 200 megawatts in 2028; the expanded facility is expected to house about 100,000 Nvidia GPUs.[1]

The nominal guarantee is capped at 18.74 trillion won if the full $9 billion investment limit is used, but the guarantee does not cover the syndicated loan itself.[1] Naver said its payment guarantee for Naver Cloud’s usage fees could last up to eight years and would not itself cause actual cash outflows or costs for Naver.[3] The Korea Herald reported that lenders are expected to assess long-term service fees and Naver Cloud’s ability to pay, since the resale value of GPUs is difficult to predict.[1] Earlier media reports named several banks and NH Investment & Securities as potential participants, but their final commitments were not disclosed.[1] The financing differs from conventional project finance, which has typically centered on assets such as real estate or power plants.[4]