BlackRock leads at least $12 billion in debt financing to support Meta's Texas data center project

According to The Wall Street Journal, BlackRock is leading the effort to raise at least $12 billion in debt financing for Meta's new data center project located in El Paso, Texas. BlackRock and its infrastructure and private credit divisions hold an 80% stake in the project, while Meta holds the remaining 20%, with the park expected to have a capacity of approximately 1 gigawatt.

JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are responsible for leading this large-scale debt issuance and are in contact with other potential investors. The project structure is similar to Meta's Louisiana data center, where Blue Owl holds an 80% stake in the joint venture, Meta holds 20%, and construction is supported through debt financing. Additionally, Meta has agreed to lease a large data center project developed by Aligned Data Centers, supported by BlackRock, in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

Over the past year, BlackRock has continued to expand its investments in AI data centers, including the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers. BlackRock was also one of the main investors in the $27 billion private debt financing for Meta's Louisiana data center, purchasing over $3 billion in bonds in that transaction.