Meta, BlackRock structure $14B El Paso data center as 80/20 JV
The capital structure, not the compute, is the story: this is the financing template gigawatt-scale AI campuses are about to run on.
- Source Briefing
- Public record
- Also reported by CNBC
Meta and BlackRock formed a joint venture on July 28 to build a $14 billion, 1 gigawatt AI data center campus in El Paso, Texas, with BlackRock-managed funds taking an 80% stake and Meta holding the remaining 20%. The campus is already under construction, with operations targeted for 2028.
Why it matters
This is a capital structure story before it is a technology story. Meta is contributing $2.3 billion of land and construction-in-progress assets rather than cash, converting a project it was building on its own balance sheet into a minority-owned, majority third-party-financed venture. BlackRock’s managed funds put in $4.9 billion cash for control of the vehicle, and the venture layers on $12.5 billion of debt financing on top. For developers chasing gigawatt-scale AI campuses, this is now the template: hyperscalers contribute land and sunk construction costs for a minority stake, an asset manager brings the majority cash and arranges the debt, and the balance sheet the project actually runs on isn’t the tech company’s. Power availability and siting, not land assembly, are still the gating factor on whether a site can even get to this stage.
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The numbers
The venture totals roughly $14 billion for 1 gigawatt of compute capacity, about $14 million in development cost per megawatt on Meta’s own figures. Total equity in the structure runs $7.2 billion, Meta’s $2.3 billion in assets plus BlackRock’s $4.9 billion cash, against $12.5 billion in debt, a debt-to-equity ratio near 1.7 to 1. Meta expects to receive an additional roughly $1 billion distribution from the venture. The project is already employing more than 2,300 workers on-site and is expected to reach over 4,000 construction jobs at peak, with 300 permanent operational roles once complete.
What’s next
Watch which lenders take pieces of the $12.5 billion debt package once it is syndicated, since that will set the pricing benchmark for the next hyperscaler JV. BlackRock has now closed three separate data-center capital commitments in the national market in eleven days, following the $40 billion Aligned Data Centers buyout with MGX and the Coravel platform’s Dallas-Fort Worth tenant. Expect more hyperscalers to follow Meta’s lead and shop existing campuses into similar 80/20 structures rather than fund gigawatt buildouts alone.
Quick answers
- What is the latest on El Paso AI data center campus?
- Meta moved a 1GW campus off its balance sheet into an 80/20 joint venture with BlackRock funds, backed by $12.5B in debt.
- Who is developing El Paso AI data center campus?
- Meta and BlackRock, according to Meta Investor Relations.
- Where does the information on El Paso AI data center campus come from?
- The story cites Meta Investor Relations and CNBC.
On the record
Meta's own release prices the campus at approximately $14 billion for 1 gigawatt of compute capacity, which works out to about $14 million in development cost per megawatt, a benchmark neither company printed but that developers pricing their own AI campus land and power deals can now underwrite against.
Public record · investor.atmeta.com
Primary record
- Public recordAdding Meta's $2.3 billion in contributed land and construction-in-progress assets to BlackRock's $4.9 billion cash contribution puts total venture equity at $7.2 billion against $12.5 billion of debt financing, a debt-to-equity ratio of about 1.7 to 1, meaning debt funds roughly two-thirds of the deal's total capitalization.View the record on investor.atmeta.com
- Our coverageThis is BlackRock's third data-center capital commitment we have tracked in eleven days: the Coravel platform's first Dallas-Fort Worth tenant on July 17, the $40 billion close of the Aligned Data Centers buyout with MGX on July 22, and now the El Paso venture with Meta.Read our earlier story
Company announcement
- Meta Investor RelationsMeta Announces New Strategic Venture with BlackRock to Develop Data Center in El Paso A company statement, not independently confirmed.
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