Meta and BlackRock announced a joint venture on 28 July to own the AI data centre campus already under construction in northeast El Paso, Texas: about $14 billion of total development cost and 1 gigawatt of capacity, with the first of it expected online in 2028. Funds managed by BlackRock — including Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS Investment Partners — take an 80% interest. Meta keeps 20%.
Who puts in what
Meta contributes land and construction-in-progress valued at roughly $2.3 billion, then receives a one-time distribution of about $1 billion to align the stakes — a net contribution closer to $1.3 billion. BlackRock contributes approximately $4.9 billion in cash, part of it funded from a $12.5 billion debt financing raised at the venture level; the related $12.3 billion of senior secured notes were launched days before the announcement.
The guarantee
Meta provides construction management, administrative and property management services, and is the initial sole occupant. The leases run an initial four-year term with four extension options, a potential twenty years in all. Meta also provides residual value guarantees with an aggregate threshold of about $13 billion, decreasing over time, with maximum exposure during the first sixteen years. Which is to say: Meta does not own the campus, but it carries a good deal of the risk of what the campus is worth.
On the ground
Construction is already running with more than 2,300 workers on site, expected to peak above 4,000, resolving into 300 permanent operational jobs. The transaction was expected to close within days.
The second one
This is the same shape Meta used for Hyperion in Louisiana with Blue Owl last autumn. What has changed is the frequency: the structure that was an experiment nine months ago is now how a gigawatt gets financed, with the compute secured by lease rather than by capex.