Overview
- Meta and BlackRock announced a venture on Tuesday that will complete and jointly own a 1‑gigawatt data center campus in El Paso with total development costs of about $14 billion.
- Funds managed by BlackRock will hold an 80% stake while Meta keeps 20%, and BlackRock will fund part of its investment with roughly $12.5 billion in debt financing.
- At close Meta will contribute land and construction‑in‑progress valued at about $2.3 billion, receive a one‑time distribution near $1 billion to align stakes, and the partners will fund development pro rata.
- Meta will lease the entire campus as the initial sole occupant under a four‑year base lease with options extending to a potential 20‑year term and provide residual‑value guarantees with an aggregate threshold of about $13 billion.
- The deal echoes Meta’s prior Blue Owl Hyperion template and signals a wider market shift to asset‑manager majority ownership, heavier project bond issuance, higher borrowing costs, and local pressures on power, water, housing and workforce needs as AI capacity ramps in 2028.