Meta Platforms and BlackRock are jointly building a 1-gigawatt AI data center in El Paso, Texas, in a deal valued at roughly $14 billion. BlackRock-managed funds will own 80% of the venture, while Meta will lease the campus once construction wraps up in 2028.
How the deal is structured
Meta is contributing land and construction-in-progress assets worth about $2.3 billion and will collect a separate $1 billion payout to balance the ownership math. BlackRock will add its own $4.9 billion in cash. A further $12.5 billion in debt financing, raised separately, will cover the rest of BlackRock's side of the deal.
Meta signed an initial four-year lease with options extending it toward 20 years. The company also agreed to cover a shortfall up to $13 billion if the campus value falls below a threshold; that guarantee shrinks over time.
Why the off-balance-sheet structure
Investors previously punished Meta's stock over capital expenditure fears earlier this year, making off-balance-sheet structures like the BlackRock venture attractive. By keeping the data center off its own books, Meta can expand its AI infrastructure without directly inflating its capex line.
What the CEOs said
Mark Zuckerberg said: 'Building the infrastructure for superintelligence is key to making sure the benefits of this technology are distributed to everyone.'
Larry Fink said: 'We're excited to partner with Mark and the Meta leadership team on the El Paso data center campus, which will create thousands of skilled jobs and help drive economic growth in the local community.'
Morgan Stanley and other banks helped push the broader AI bond market past $570 billion this year. Meta separately entered talks in mid-July on leasing compute capacity to Anthropic in a deal worth up to $10 billion.
Meta's stock traded near $593, down about 8% over the past week. The deal was announced Tuesday, two days before Meta's Q2 earnings report. That report will give investors their next look at how the company is balancing AI spending with profitability.
