Meta has selected U.S. bond giant PIMCO and alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital to lead a $29 billion financing initiative for the company's data center expansion in rural Louisiana. The financing arrangement will see PIMCO handle approximately USD 26 billion of debt, likely to be issued in the form of bonds, while Blue Owl will contribute USD 3 billion in equity.

The deal represents Meta's strategic approach to funding its artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion through external partnerships. Meta, PIMCO, and Blue Owl have all declined to comment on the reported arrangement.

Financing Structure and Partners

According to the financing arrangement, PIMCO will manage the substantial debt portion of the project, handling about $26 billion that is expected to be structured as bond issuances. Blue Owl Capital will provide the equity component, contributing $3 billion to the overall financing package. Meta has been working with Morgan Stanley to raise the necessary funds for this expansion project. During the negotiation process, other major financial firms including Apollo Global Management and KKR were also in contention to lead the deal until the closing stages of negotiations.

Broader AI Infrastructure Strategy

The Louisiana data center financing is part of Meta's larger strategy to secure partners for funding its AI infrastructure development. Last week, the company filed documents indicating plans to offload approximately $2 billion in data center assets as part of a co-development strategy designed to share the costs of building facilities for generative AI. In July, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would invest hundreds of billions of dollars to construct several massive AI data centers for its superintelligence unit. This investment represents an intensification of Zuckerberg's pursuit of AI technology, which has included a talent war for top engineers in the field.

Upcoming Data Center Projects

Meta has outlined specific timelines and capacities for its planned data center facilities. The company's first multi-gigawatt data center, named Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026. A second facility called Hyperion will have the capability to scale up to 5 gigawatts over the coming years, according to a post Zuckerberg made on his Threads social media platform last month. These facilities represent significant infrastructure investments as Meta positions itself in the artificial intelligence sector. The scale of these projects reflects the substantial power and computational requirements needed for advanced AI operations.

Capital Raising Activities

In June, reports indicated that Meta was seeking to raise USD 29 billion from private capital firms specifically to build AI data centers in the United States.

The company has been evaluating various options for structuring the debt raise and considering additional capital raising opportunities beyond the current arrangement. The company's recent filing revealed plans to offload about $2 billion in data center assets as part of its co-development strategy, which aims to distribute the financial burden of constructing facilities needed for generative AI applications.

This approach allows Meta to maintain its expansion plans while sharing costs with strategic partners. The rural Louisiana location for this major data center expansion represents Meta's geographic diversification strategy for its AI infrastructure network. The $29 billion investment in this single location demonstrates the scale of resources Meta is dedicating to its artificial intelligence ambitions and the infrastructure required to support advanced AI operations.

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