Pacific Investment Management Co. (Pimco) and Blue Owl Capital have emerged as winners of a landmark $29 billion financing package for Meta Platforms’ new data center in Louisiana, underscoring the scale of private credit’s role in powering the global AI boom. The deal, arranged by Morgan Stanley, is one of the largest of its kind to date.
Outpacing Apollo and KKR
The competition for the mandate was fierce. Morgan Stanley invited four of the world’s largest asset managers — Pimco, Blue Owl, Apollo, and KKR — to compete in pairs, with the requirement that the winning group be able to fund the entire project quickly. In early August, Pimco and Blue Owl were awarded the deal, edging out Apollo and KKR.
For Pimco, traditionally known for its expertise in publicly traded debt, this represents a strategic win as it deepens its push into private credit markets. Blue Owl, meanwhile, cements its standing as one of the fastest-growing alternative lenders in the infrastructure and technology financing space.
Structure of the Financing
The financing is split between debt and equity:
- Pimco will arrange roughly $26 billion in investment-grade bonds, structured with Morgan Stanley.
- Blue Owl will contribute about $3 billion in equity funding.
Initial discussions suggest the bonds may be priced at around 1.5 percentage points above Meta’s existing traded debt, with syndication expected in the weeks ahead.
AI Infrastructure Demands Soar
The deal illustrates the financial intensity of the artificial intelligence race. According to JPMorgan, data centers scheduled to be built over the next two years alone will require approximately $150 billion in financing. While some of that will be securitized through commercial mortgage-backed products, as much as $70–90 billion remains open for private credit and institutional investors to capture.
For Meta, the Louisiana hub represents a critical addition to its expanding AI infrastructure footprint, designed to support everything from data processing to future generative AI applications.
Risks and Opportunities
While investor appetite for AI-related infrastructure is enormous, risks remain. Questions around the pace of AI advancement — particularly after muted reception for OpenAI’s latest GPT-5 model — have raised concerns about the sustainability of near-term hype. Yet for financial players like Pimco and Blue Owl, the scale of opportunity outweighs the uncertainty.
Strategic Significance
This transaction is more than a funding deal — it highlights the blurring lines between Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the private credit industry. As AI infrastructure scales into one of the most capital-intensive global industries, firms like Pimco and Blue Owl are positioning themselves not only as financiers but as strategic gatekeepers of the digital economy’s next growth phase.
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IMAGE: AP
