Oracle market cap loses millions as notice sent on data center project 'surfaces'

Oracle is taking legal steps to protect itself from accumulating expenses on a massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center in southern New Mexico, marking a sharp escalation for an infrastructure project mired in public opposition and regulatory hurdles. Citing individuals familiar with the matter, a report by Bloomberg says that the enterprise technology giant has sent a formal notice citing force majeure to the project’s developer, a unit of alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital. Following this development, Oracle’s shares fell 4%, losing millions of dollars from its market cap.The report notes that rather than walking away entirely as the anchor tenant, Oracle is seeking to defer contractual payments if the facility, internally named Project Jupiter, encounters further delays and misses its planned 2028 operational target.What is Force Majeure and understanding Oracle’s moveCompanies generally invoke force majeure to suspend or excuse contractual duties when uncontrollable events prevent performance.