Meta-Tied Data Center Taps US Junk Bonds for the First Time

CleanSpark Inc. is seeking to borrow roughly $2.23 billion through a junk-bond offering to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure tied to Meta Platforms Inc..

The five-year notes will help finance construction of a data center in Sandersville, Georgia, according to a regulatory filing. Morgan Stanley is leading the offering, said a person familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

The Sandersville facility has been fully leased to Anviran LLC, a Meta subsidiary, under a $6.6 billion, 20-year contract, according to a CleanSpark presentation. Meta will serve as the guarantor of rent and operating expenses, the firm said.

It’s the first junk-bond offering tied to a Meta data center, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meta’s commitment to CleanSpark gives the junk-rated borrower a predictable revenue stream to support borrowing for a costly project. Data center developers have sold roughly $39 billion of high-yield bonds so far this year, making technology the biggest issuing sector in the market, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Las Vegas-based CleanSpark is among a growing number of public Bitcoin mining companies that are becoming data-center operators to support artificial intelligence applications. The company has a market value of roughly $3.29 billion.

The CleanSpark transaction is expected to price on Friday, said the person familiar with the offering. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are also participating as underwriters.