Related Digital nears $16 billion financing for Oracle data center, source says

April 1 (Reuters) - Data center developer Related Digital is closing in on $16 billion of financing for an Oracle ORCL.N data center in Michigan, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

• OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital in October announced that they are building a data center campus of more than 1 gigawatt in Saline Township, Michigan, as part of their Stargate push to expand U.S. AI infrastructure capacity.

• Big Tech companies have been pouring billions into building AI infrastructure, driven by the pursuit of technology capable of matching or surpassing human intelligence.

• Full construction in Saline Township commenced in February and financing is expected to be finalized shortly, Related Digital said in a statement.

• "We are proud of the rapid progress that's been made both in financing and developing our data center in Saline Township, Michigan," an Oracle spokesperson said in a statement.

• Oracle has hit a major milestone with the vertical construction of the campus now underway, the spokesperson said, adding that the effort is moving forward on time and according to plan.

• Blackstone's BX.N equity contribution is projected to be nearly $2 billion, amounting to about half of what was initially under consideration, according to Bloomberg News, which reported the development earlier.

• Bank of America BAC.N is leading an additional $14 billion in debt financing that was originally intended as a construction loan but is now expected to be structured as a bond offering, Bloomberg News said.

• BofA declined to comment, while Blackstone did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters.