Meta’s jumbo bond sale draws record $125 billion of orders

At $25 billion, the Meta deal would be the second biggest public bond sale this year Bloomberg-compiled data show.

Meta Platforms Inc. has received orders of about $125 billion for a corporate bond sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter, the most ever for such an offering.

The demand for the deal, expected to be at least $25 billion in size, surpasses the previous record set back in 2018 when CVS Health Corp. sold $40 billion of bonds to help fund its purchase of Aetna Inc. In that debt sale, investors placed $120 billion of orders, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

The massive interest from investors signals hunger to get exposure to companies that are spending aggressively on artificial intelligence.

Technology firms with vast funding needs to pay for their AI ambitions are striking blockbuster debt deals at the fastest pace in years, and more is expected to come.

The Meta offering, which is earmarked for general corporate purposes, comes a day after Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg warned the company would ramp up spending on AI.

At $25 billion, the Meta deal would be the second biggest public bond sale this year Bloomberg-compiled data show.

A representative for Citigroup Inc., one of the banks managing the bond sale, declined to comment. Those for Morgan Stanley, which is also involved in the deal, and Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.