Meta Platforms Inc. sold €9 billion of bonds in its first offering in euros, a day after it raised $15 billion in the U.S. dollar market, as the social-media company keeps borrowing to pay for its artificial-intelligence build-out.
The six-part deal, priced Wednesday, includes notes due from 2031 to 2065, according to the pricing terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The largest pieces are €1.75 billion each of 4.30% notes due 2031, 5.40% notes due 2038 and 6.05% notes due 2044. Meta also sold €1.25 billion of 4.65% notes due 2033, €1 billion of 4.90% notes due 2035 and €1.5 billion of 6.40% notes due 2065.
Paying up to tap a new market
Spreads ran from 103 basis points over euro mid-swaps on the shortest notes to 333 basis points on the 2065 bonds, generous levels for a borrower rated Aa3 by Moody’s and AA- by S&P, which has a negative outlook on the company. Yields ranged from about 4.33% to 6.44%. The notes settle Nov. 12 and Meta plans to list them on the Nasdaq bond exchange. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley ran the books.
Meta is the second big technology company to tap Europe’s market this week, after Alphabet Inc. sold €6 billion of bonds on Monday. Borrowing in euros lets the companies reach a different pool of investors, diversify funding and match debt to overseas assets.
Growing debt load
The sale lands amid investor unease over the scale of AI spending and the returns needed to justify it. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5% in October, and AI-linked shares and bonds have been volatile since Tuesday’s midterm elections raised the prospect of tighter oversight of big tech. Meta shares rose about 2% Wednesday morning. Together with its dollar sale, Meta has raised the equivalent of more than $25 billion in two days, following Microsoft’s $25 billion offering last week.
