Global Infrastructure Partners already owns Dallas-based data centre company CyrusOne with KKR
[NEW YORK] BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is in advanced talks to acquire Aligned Data Centers, targeting a major beneficiary of AI spending in one of the year’s biggest deals, according to people familiar with the matter.
Aligned, which is backed by Macquarie, could be valued at about US$40 billion in a transaction, one of the people said. An agreement could be announced within days, the people added, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
MGX, an AI investment company established by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment, is also involved in the talks and would invest independently as part of a transaction, one of the people said. Mubadala has separately already invested in Aligned.
GIP has also been eyeing other big takeovers, including a potential acquisition of power company AES on expectations that the sector will benefit from surging electricity demand from facilities running AI applications. AES has an enterprise value of about US$38 billion, including debt.
GIP has not reached a final agreement for Aligned Data Centers and some details might change or the talks could still end without a transaction, the people said.
A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment. Representatives for Aligned, Macquarie and Mubadala did not respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
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The envisioned acquisition marks the latest in a parade of eye-popping deals since ChatGPT emerged, as investors vie for exposure to the leaders of a technology with the potential to transform industries and economies. They have piled into infrastructure providers such as chip linchpins Nvidia and SK Hynix, pushed up valuations of startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, and poured capital into all manner of gear suppliers to the AI boom.
The surge in valuations has worried some market observers who argue that, while data centre spending and construction is accelerating, AI services have yet to go mainstream and earn the revenues needed to justify the near-unprecedented rally.
“If the technology doesn’t catch up and doesn’t deliver as per the high expectations that the market’s pricing in, then we’re in for a bubble,” GIC group CIO Bryan Yeo told the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Friday (Oct 3).
In recent years, digital infrastructure in particular has become a popular target for global investors looking for stable returns and growth. It’s also one of the busiest assets for dealmaking, despite concerns that the new capacity may eventually outstrip demand.
At US$40 billion, GIP’s deal for Aligned would rank among the world’s five biggest transactions this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. GIP already owns Dallas-based data centre company CyrusOne with KKR. The two firms took CyrusOne private in a 2021 deal valuing the company at about US$15 billion.
BlackRock acquired GIP last year for roughly US$12.5 billion. Shares of BlackRock have gained about 13 per cent this year, giving the company a market value of about US$189 billion.
Aligned, operating throughout the US and South America and based in Plano, Texas, has 50 campuses and 78 data centres under management and future development, according to its website. In January, it landed more than US$12 billion in equity and debt commitments from investors including funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management.
Last month, Aligned was one of the companies represented at a meeting with Trump administration officials on speeding the development of AI and the infrastructure it relies on.
The data centre construction boom is galvanising governments around the world. In the US, the White House has proposed streamlining environmental reviews for the construction of new facilities as investment pours into the industry.
Recent deals include Meta Platforms raising US$29 billion in a financing package for a data centre in Louisiana. Oracle raised US$18 billion in bonds as it builds infrastructure for OpenAI.
MGX has been looking at raising up to US$25 billion for its AI infrastructure effort, Bloomberg News has reported. Mubadala also maintains a strategic partnership with BlackRock, according to the fund’s website. BLOOMBERG
