Meta reportedly weighs 20B bond sale its first in euros

Meta is sounding out investors for a bond sale worth at least $20bn, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter. It would be the company's first bond sale in euros.

The plan under discussion splits the deal into US dollar bonds in five parts and euro notes in six parts.

Meta has asked Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to hold investor calls on Monday and Tuesday, per Bloomberg. Such calls usually come just before a sale: if the feedback is good, bonds can be priced within days.

No final decision has been made, and the sale could grow beyond $20bn if demand is strong. Meta has not commented publicly.

The timing makes the sale a test. Tech shares and bonds fell through October as investors questioned how fast AI companies are spending on data centres, and whether the returns will justify it.

Meta knows the debt market well by now. A year ago it sold $30bn of bonds in six parts, its largest sale ever, and orders broke records, Bloomberg reported at the time.

The money feeds an enormous building programme. Meta is spending heavily on AI data centres, including its giant Hyperion site in Louisiana, and new debt lets it fund that without selling shares.

Meta would be the third tech giant to tap the bond market in a single day. Oracle, which capped new fundraising at $20B last week, began a $10B bond sale alongside a $10B share offering on Monday. Alphabet launched a €6bn euro sale of its own, its second this year.

Alphabet's sale drew more than €17bn in orders, Reuters reported, a sign that bond investors remain willing to fund the AI build-out even as stock investors waver.

A euro debut would also fit a wider pattern. Analysts expect big US tech companies to sell more bonds in Europe, where debt markets are deep, to spread their borrowing beyond the dollar market.