A $2.4 billion debt financing package, led by funds managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL.US), has been finalized to support cloud services provider IREN Ltd. (IREN.US) in its acquisition of Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra GPUs for a data center campus in Canada.
The financing comprises $1.2 billion in senior secured term loans and an equal amount in senior secured notes, with a structural design that allows Sydney-based IREN to purchase equipment in phases over an agreed period. Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) also participated in the financing, with both tranches carrying a 9% interest rate and a maturity of two and a half years from the funding date.
Blue Owl Senior Managing Director Kurt Tenenbaum described the financing as combining GPU equipment funding with direct loan underwriting to IREN, provided through its credit division. He characterized the investment structure as unique and among the largest of its kind in comparable transactions.
The debt will support the expansion of computing capacity at IREN's Mackenzie data center campus in British Columbia. As an asset manager with $319 billion in assets under management, Blue Owl has been at the forefront of major AI projects, including Meta Platforms Inc.'s (META.US) Hyperion project in Louisiana and a large-scale development in Abilene, Texas, in partnership with Crusoe and Primary Digital Infrastructure.
With new data centers coming online, demand for specialized chips continues to rise, and chip financing is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. IREN, which operates both bitcoin mining and data center businesses, projected capital expenditures of up to $30 billion for fiscal year 2027 in its Thursday earnings report. Its shares fell nearly 13% on Friday following the announcement.
Earlier this year, the AI-focused cloud provider also reached an agreement with the NBA's Golden State Warriors to feature its logo on the team's jerseys. Meanwhile, Blue Owl, through its HomeCourt Partners fund, holds minority stakes in several other teams across the league.