Meta Secures $13 Billion Financing for El Paso AI Data Center, Setting New Scale for Single‑Site Deals
Key Points
- Meta Platforms is arranging about $13 billion in financing for its El Paso AI data center.
- Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are leading the loan, which will be mostly debt.
- The facility targets roughly 1 GW of capacity and aims to open in 2028.
- Meta’s investment in the site has risen to over $10 billion, part of a $125‑$145 billion 2026 capex plan.
- The deal would rank among the largest single‑site digital‑infrastructure financings ever.
- Project‑level financing is becoming standard for AI data centers, following deals like Oracle’s $16.3 billion Stargate financing.
- Lenders view the loan as low‑risk, backed by Meta’s creditworthiness and a long‑term lease.
- The financing reflects strong credit‑market appetite for AI‑related infrastructure.
Meta Platforms has teamed with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to arrange roughly $13 billion in financing—primarily debt—for its El Paso, Texas, artificial‑intelligence data center. The package, tied to a projected 1‑gigawatt facility slated to open in 2028, would rank among the largest single‑site digital‑infrastructure financings ever assembled. The move reflects Meta’s expanding 2026 capital‑expenditure plan and signals strong credit‑market appetite for AI‑related projects.
Meta Platforms is moving ahead with a massive financing package for its El Paso, Texas, artificial‑intelligence data center, according to Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are structuring a roughly $13 billion loan, with a modest equity component, to fund a facility that aims to deliver about one gigawatt of compute capacity when it opens in 2028.
The size of the deal puts it in rare company. If completed as reported, the financing would join a short list of single‑site digital‑infrastructure transactions that approach the scale of national‑level projects. The loan is being arranged against a long‑term lease to Meta itself, allowing lenders to rely on the company’s creditworthiness rather than speculative cash flow.
Meta’s investment in the El Paso site has ballooned dramatically over the past few months. In March the company more than sextupled its planned outlay, pushing the total past $10 billion. The new financing extends that commitment, underscoring Meta’s aggressive push to build AI‑ready capacity ahead of its 2026 capital‑expenditure guidance, which now sits between $125 billion and $145 billion.
Project‑level financing has become the standard model for large AI data centers. Earlier this year, Oracle secured a $16.3 billion package for its Stargate project, while Blackstone launched a $1.75 billion publicly listed data‑center REIT to give investors exposure to the same asset class. Meta’s El Paso deal follows that trend but pushes the ceiling higher, illustrating how lenders are willing to underwrite massive, single‑counterparty leases when the tenant is a tech giant with deep cash reserves.
The financing structure leans heavily on debt, reflecting Meta’s preference for leveraging its balance sheet rather than draining operating cash flow. Relying on project‑level debt helps preserve free‑cash‑flow generation, a metric that investors watch closely. By tying the loan to contracted capacity and a credit‑worthy operator, the arrangement spreads risk and offers a clearer repayment path over decades.
Bank participation signals that institutional credit demand for AI‑infrastructure remains robust. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are not typically arranging such a large sum for a single site, yet they are moving forward, suggesting the market can still absorb deals of this magnitude. Whether that appetite endures if AI spending cools or lease rates compress will become clearer over time.
In the broader context, Meta’s financing move highlights how AI infrastructure has matured into a distinct category of project finance, comparable to pipelines, ports, or large‑scale energy projects. The company’s ambition to power a gigawatt‑scale facility underscores its belief that AI workloads will dominate its future computing needs.
For now, the $13 billion package stands as a benchmark: a testament to the scale of capital required to build the next generation of AI data centers and a reminder that the credit markets are willing to back such bets when the lessee is a firm with deep pockets and a clear growth trajectory.