Oracle Stock Slides After Blue Owl Exit Report, Company Says Michigan Data Center Talks Remain on Track

Oracle shares fell more than 4% on Wednesday after a Financial Times report claimed that Blue Owl Capital, Oracle’s largest U.S. data center partner, decided not to support a planned $10 billion data center project in Michigan designed to serve OpenAI. The report raised investor concerns about Oracle’s aggressive artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion and its growing debt load.

According to the FT, Blue Owl had been in advanced discussions with lenders and Oracle regarding an investment in the 1-gigawatt data center project in Saline Township, Michigan. However, negotiations reportedly stalled, leading Blue Owl to step away from the deal. Historically, Blue Owl has played a key role in Oracle’s data center strategy by owning major facilities and leasing them back to the company, making its apparent absence from the project notable for the market.

Oracle later responded to the report through a statement cited by Bloomberg, pushing back against concerns that the project was in trouble. The company said that final negotiations on an equity deal for the Michigan data center are “on schedule,” emphasizing that development plans remain intact. Oracle clarified that while Blue Owl is not involved, its project development partner, Related Digital, selected another equity partner from a competitive group of potential investors.

Bloomberg added that the data center is part of Oracle’s broader push to scale AI-focused computing capacity and compete more aggressively with larger cloud providers. The facility is expected to support high-demand AI workloads for companies such as OpenAI, aligning with Oracle’s long-term artificial intelligence growth strategy.

Market reaction also reflected broader unease around Oracle’s rising debt and capital expenditures related to AI infrastructure. Analysts have warned that heavy spending on data centers could pressure the company’s balance sheet. During Oracle’s most recent earnings call, management addressed these concerns, stating that despite estimates of a roughly $100 billion debt requirement, the company intends to maintain an investment-grade credit profile.

Piper Sandler analyst Glenn Schorr commented that Blue Owl’s absence from the deal may not be negative for the private capital firm, noting that digital infrastructure remains a core growth area and that competition for high-quality projects is intensifying. He added that while missing out on this deal may be disappointing, Blue Owl is likely to find other opportunities as the AI data center “land grab” continues.