Social media firm said to be in talks with Apollo, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and Pimco.

Meta is reportedly turning to private capital firms to raise $29 billion and finance its US data center build.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reports the social media firm is in discussions with the likes of Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and Pimco.

Mark Zuckerberg
– Mark Zuckerberg
Meta is said to be hoping to raise $3bn of equity from them and then a further $26bn in debt.

Meta, Morgan Stanley, Apollo, Brookfield, Carlyle, KKR, and Pimco all declined to comment to the FT.

Reports that Meta was exploring the possibility of a $35bn data center fund surfaced in February; Apollo was said to be in talks to lead the venture.

As well as being a major leaser of data center space, social media giant Meta operates 28 data center campuses globally, with more in development. The facilities power its Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram platforms, as well as hosting its sizeable portfolio of AI hardware.

In May, the company said that it expects its 2025 capital expenditure to increase to between $64bn and $72bn, up from the $60bn to $65bn it previously planned to spend. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously said the company will likely spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on AI infrastructure in the coming years.

The company is a major investor in renewable energy and has signed gigawatts worth of energy deals in recent years. It is also a notable investor in subsea fiber cables.

As well as infrastructure, the company is looking to invest in several AI firms to further its ambitions.

Meta previously paused around a dozen data center construction projects globally in December 2022 amid a “rescope” to accommodate AI-centric designs.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/meta-in-talks-for-29bn-data-center-financing/