CleanSpark's $2.28 Billion Meta-Backed Data Center Bond Draws Overwhelming Demand

A junk-rated bond offering tied to a Meta Platforms (META) data center saw overwhelming investor interest, with orders exceeding the deal size by more than four times, according to people familiar with the matter. The strong demand underscores the market's appetite for debt that finances the digital infrastructure powering the artificial intelligence boom.

Deal Attracts Strong Interest

Data center operator CleanSpark (CLSK) received approximately $10 billion in orders for its inaugural high-yield bond, which was ultimately sized at nearly $2.28 billion. The five-year notes were priced at 98.5 cents on the dollar to yield 8.25%, a person familiar with the matter said.

This yield represents a significant premium, coming in about 1.75 percentage points higher than the average for similarly BB-rated corporate bonds, according to Bloomberg-tracked data. The attractive return helped draw in investors despite a crowded market for data center financing.

AI Boom Pushes Up Financing Costs

Investors have been demanding higher premiums for data center debt amid a surge in issuance and growing concerns over the high capital expenditures required for AI infrastructure. The rising cost of capital is a notable trend; earlier this year, similar financing deals backed by investment-grade tenants were able to price with yields below 6%.

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The proceeds from the bond sale, which was led by Morgan Stanley, will be used to finance the construction of a data center in Sandersville, Georgia, according to a regulatory filing. Data center developers have sold more than $3 billion in high-yield bonds so far this year, with most issues supported by long-term leases with hyperscale cloud providers.

Meta's Backing Provides Security

The CleanSpark facility is fully pre-leased to Meta subsidiary Anviran LLC under a 20-year, $6.6 billion contract, according to a company presentation. Meta will guarantee the rent and operating expenses, providing a predictable revenue stream that helps secure the debt for the junk-rated borrower. The data center is expected to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Las Vegas-based CleanSpark, which has a market capitalization of about $3.63 billion, is among a growing number of publicly traded Bitcoin miners that are pivoting to become data center operators to capitalize on the explosive demand from AI applications.