BlackRock Inc.-linked Sopaipilla Investor has begun marketing a $12.3 billion bond issue intended to underwrite a Meta Platforms data center project in El Paso, Texas, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt is being offered as a single high-grade tranche that matures in 2048, with initial price talk around 2.875 percentage points over U.S. Treasuries.
Proceeds from the sale are earmarked for a multi-building data center campus that is expected to supply as much as 1 gigawatt of computing capacity devoted to artificial intelligence workloads. Ownership of the project is split between BlackRock subsidiaries Global Infrastructure Management and HPS Investment Partners, which together control an 80% stake, and Meta, which holds the remaining 20%.
JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are underwriting the offering and are managing the process. Sources say the deal is anticipated to price next week. Credit rating agencies have assigned the bonds a high-grade rating.
Summary
- BlackRock-related Sopaipilla Investor is offering $12.3 billion of high-grade notes due 2048.
- Funds will back a Meta data center campus in El Paso expected to provide up to 1 GW of AI computing capacity.
- BlackRock units and HPS Investment Partners own 80% of the project, Meta 20%. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are leading the deal, which is set to price next week.
Key points
- Size and structure: A single-tranche $12.3 billion bond offering maturing in 2048 is being marketed to investors.
- Project scale and purpose: The financing will support a data center campus expected to deliver as much as 1 gigawatt of AI-focused compute.
- Stakeholders and market placement: BlackRock subsidiaries and HPS hold the majority stake with Meta as a minority owner; large banks are arranging the sale.
Risks and uncertainties
- Investor demand: The offering will test appetite for large-scale debt tied to AI infrastructure in the current market environment.
- Timing and execution: The deal is expected to price next week, and market conditions between marketing and pricing could affect final terms.
- Concentration of exposure: The project represents a sizable capital commitment to a single large data center campus and to AI workloads, which may influence credit and sector risk assessments.
The marketing indicates how institutional asset managers and infrastructure investors are financing major technology and power-intensive projects. The scale of the notes and the stated pricing are central to gauging investor willingness to absorb long-dated, high-grade paper tied to heavy AI infrastructure spending. The bonds’ high-grade ratings are noted by market participants involved in the placement.