BlackRock Leads $12B Meta Data Center Debt, Buys Aligned

AI Data Center Boom Draws Deep-Pocketed Investors

BlackRock’s latest moves come as hyperscale data centers become epicenter assets for global capital. Generative AI adoption continues to drive this demand. According to Bisnow, BlackRock is at the forefront, executing around $57B in data center deals this week.

The firm is financing Meta’s Texas campus while acquiring Aligned Data Centers. These moves underscore escalating competition for digital infrastructure. US data center investment has surged since 2023. CBRE reported a record $48B in global activity during 2025.

The Details

BlackRock is leading a $12B debt financing package for Meta’s new El Paso data center campus. The project should deliver nearly 1 GW of capacity. Under the joint venture, BlackRock will hold 80%, while Meta retains the remaining 20%.

JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are reportedly anchoring the bond purchase. They plan to syndicate the remaining debt to outside investors. The arrangement closely follows Meta and Blue Owl’s Louisiana joint venture, which raised $27B in debt. BlackRock acquired $3B of those bonds.

Meanwhile, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, and MGX closed their $40B acquisition of Aligned Data Centers. The deal adds more than 6.4 GW of operational and planned capacity across 51 campuses.

Mirrored Deal Structures and Market Expansion

Both the El Paso and Richland Parish projects use joint ventures and debt-heavy structures. These arrangements let technology tenants like Meta share risk and capital requirements. At the same time, they secure critical digital infrastructure.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Aligned’s footprint now spans several leading US data center markets. Its portfolio also includes a planned Pennsylvania project recently leased by Meta. Aligned previously secured a major credit facility to support its expansion as hyperscale demand accelerated across key markets. Transactions of this scale have become increasingly common across the hyperscale market.

Asset managers, institutional investors, and sovereign wealth funds continue chasing digital infrastructure yields. Meanwhile, hyperscalers secure power and capacity while limiting direct capital exposure.

Why It Matters

BlackRock’s commitment strengthens its position as a dominant force in global digital infrastructure. The firm executed $57B in major transactions, including the $40B Aligned acquisition. BlackRock now controls a platform with over $200B in data center-related assets.

That portfolio follows its acquisitions of Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS Investment Partners. The $12B bond offering and Meta joint venture also demonstrate a changing financing model. Major players increasingly bypass traditional single-owner structures for multibillion-dollar developments.

As AI and cloud demand accelerate, asset managers and technology giants will likely pursue more club deals. CBRE reported that hyperscale capacity pipelines reached 14 GW in 2025. That represented 21% year-over-year growth and reflected exceptionally strong global demand.

The Aligned acquisition also highlights where investors increasingly see long-term value. Capital is flowing beyond individual developments toward reliable platforms that can scale quickly. Hyperscalers are also increasingly willing to pre-lease capacity from these platforms.

Meta’s lease of Aligned’s planned Pennsylvania campus reinforces that trend. BlackRock is betting on operational scale and development pipelines across high-demand regions. Its rapid investments show how quickly generative AI is reshaping global capital allocation across CRE.

What’s Next

Following the Aligned acquisition and Meta joint venture, BlackRock plans another $5B investment to accelerate Aligned’s expansion. That capital will likely target power-rich and underserved US markets.

Data center dealmakers expect more large syndications and joint ventures. Institutional and sovereign investors continue competing for positions in one of CRE’s fastest-growing asset classes. The next investment wave will likely target secondary and tertiary US cities.

Power access and land availability will increasingly determine where capital flows. Meanwhile, major hyperscalers could make additional lease commitments as they secure capacity for future AI workloads.