$18 Billion Loan to Fund Oracle-Tied Data Center

A consortium of approximately 20 global banks is providing a project finance loan of $18 billion to support the construction of a major data center campus in New Mexico linked to Oracle. The project is part of a broader initiative to expand AI infrastructure in the United States, Bloomberg News reported.

Lead banks include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, who are acting as administrative agents for the deal.

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Retail Syndication and Institutional Investment

The lead banks plan to syndicate the debt to additional banks and institutional investors through a retail syndication process, with commitments expected by late November. This approach allows multiple financial institutions to share investment risk and broaden participation in the funding of the project.

The loan is being structured at 2.5 percentage points over the secured overnight financing rate and is expected to have a four-year maturity with two one-year extension options, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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Strategic Context: AI Infrastructure Expansion

The New Mexico data center campus is part of the Stargate initiative, a $500 billion effort to develop AI infrastructure across the United States. Key stakeholders include OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and Oracle, with Oracle expected to be a tenant at the new facility.

This investment reflects the growing demand for high-performance computing power, driven by the development of advanced AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other machine learning technologies.

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Importance of the Project

As U.S. tech companies ramp up data center investments, projects like this are critical for supporting AI-driven services and applications. The campus will provide scalable, high-capacity computing infrastructure, helping meet the demands of increasingly complex AI workloads while promoting technological leadership in the sector.

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Key Takeaways

• A consortium of 20 banks is providing an $18 billion loan for a new data center campus linked to Oracle in New Mexico.
• Lead banks include Sumitomo Mitsui, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
• The project is part of the Stargate initiative, a $500 billion U.S. AI infrastructure push.
• The loan will be syndicated to other banks and institutional investors and has a four-year maturity with extension options.
• The facility will support high-performance computing for AI workloads, including OpenAI and Oracle operations.