The heavy hitters of private credit have been waiting for this moment for years.

Major lenders, which often cater to companies with dented credit, talk endlessly about the opportunities in investment-grade debt and in financing the breakneck growth of artificial intelligence. They’ve done smaller deals, but this week they caught the biggest fish yet: a $29 billion financing package for Meta Platforms Inc.’s massive data center in Louisiana.

That transaction, led by Pacific Investment Management Co. and Blue Owl Capital Inc., hits all the high notes: It’s a top-notch business in a hot sector. It disrupts the usual route that companies like Meta travel to get money from investors through banks. And, it’s huge.

“Private credit has been itching to get into this space,” said John Medina, sen

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