Meta Platforms (META) has reportedly teamed up with U.S. bond giant PIMCO and alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital (OWL) to secure $29 billion in financing for a major data center expansion in rural Louisiana. The move underscores Meta’s push to strengthen its infrastructure and support the growing demands of AI and digital services.
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More Details on the Deal
According to people familiar with the matter, PIMCO is set to lead the $26 billion debt component of the deal, while Blue Owl will contribute $3 billion in equity. The debt is expected to be raised through a bond issuance.
Earlier in June, reports emerged that Meta is seeking to secure $29 billion to support its aggressive expansion of AI, primarily through funding new U.S. data centers. The company was in advanced talks with leading private credit investors, including Apollo (APO), KKR (KKR), Brookfield (BAM), Carlyle (CG), and PIMCO. According to sources, Meta aims to raise $3 billion in equity from these firms, followed by an additional $26 billion in debt.
Overall, private investment firms have been eager to invest in deals backed by physical assets. Many view the multitrillion-dollar market for private asset-based financing, especially in data centers, as a big chance to grow their earnings.
Meta Expands AI Investments
The agreement follows Meta’s search for partners to support its AI infrastructure expansion. In a recent filing, the company revealed plans to sell roughly $2 billion worth of data center assets under a co-development strategy aimed at sharing the costs of constructing facilities for generative AI.
In July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build huge AI data centers for its superintelligence team. At the same time, the company expects costs to rise even faster next year, driven by spending on AI infrastructure and hiring specialized experts to fine-tune its models.
Is Meta a Good Stock to Buy?
On TipRanks, META stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 46 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 41 Buys and five Holds assigned in the last three months. The average META price target is $871.84, implying over 14% upside potential from current levels.
