META is eyeing at least $20 billion from a potential cross-border bond offering, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, with the tech giant tapping debt markets again to raise funds for its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out.
Like many of its tech rivals, Meta has been raising funds through debt and equity to fund the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, though the heavy spending is now attracting heightened investor scrutiny.
No final decision has been made, and the potential debt offering’s size may grow depending on investor demand, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Facebook parent has asked Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to hold investor calls on Monday and Tuesday, the report added.
Meta’s potential dollar bond sale will span maturities of five to 30 years, while the euro offering will range from around four years to just over 38 years, Bloomberg News reported.
The debt offering report comes about a week after the company announced plans for its largest-ever equity offerings of around $97.5 billion. The offerings include stock sales of about $37.5 billion it priced last week, and plans to later raise up to $60 billion through an at-the-market share-sale program.
Meta had also raised $30 billion in a bond offering last year, and in April sold investment-grade bonds worth $25 billion.
The heavy spending on AI infrastructure has weighed on Meta’s cash flow, with the company reporting a cash burn of $2.12 billion in the third quarter.
S&P Global Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on Meta to “negative” from “stable,” citing significant uncertainty around the company’s capital spending and free operating cash flow.
Meanwhile, rival Alphabet is selling 6 billion euros ($6.72 billion) of bonds on Monday, according to a memo from one of the deal’s managers. reuters
