Oracle stock dips 4% on report Blue Owl Capital won't back $10 billion data center

Oracle's stock experienced a decline of approximately 4% on Wednesday following news that negotiations with Blue Owl Capital for a substantial $10 billion data center investment in Michigan had stalled. This report was later contested by Oracle, which aims to construct a 1-gigawatt facility for OpenAI in Saline Township, Michigan, as indicated by the Financial Times. The discussions reportedly faltered due to apprehensions regarding Oracle's increasing debt and significant expenditures on artificial intelligence, as cited by sources familiar with the situation. Despite this, Oracle asserted that the project remains on track and is progressing as planned, clarifying that Blue Owl was not involved in the equity discussions. Oracle spokesperson Michael Egbert stated, "Our development partner, Related Digital, chose the best equity partner from a competitive range of options, which did not include Blue Owl. Final negotiations for their equity deal are proceeding as scheduled and according to our plans." Blue Owl Capital, which has previously been a key investor in Oracle's data center initiatives across the United States—including a $15 billion center in Abilene, Texas—did not respond promptly to requests for comment from CNBC. Additionally, Blackstone Inc. is reportedly in talks to possibly take over as the financial partner for the Michigan data center, though no agreements have been finalized at this time. As of November 30, Oracle's lease obligations for data centers and commitments for cloud capacity amount to a staggering $248 billion over the next 15 to 19 years, reflecting nearly a 148% increase since August. Furthermore, the cloud computing giant raised $18 billion in new debt in September, coinciding with OpenAI's announcement of a $300 billion partnership with Oracle over the next five years. By the end of November, Oracle's total liabilities, including operational lease obligations, exceeded $124 billion. Notably, Oracle's shares have dropped approximately 46% since reaching their peak earlier this year.