BlackRock’s World Infrastructure Companions (GIP) is reportedly in superior talks to accumulate Aligned Information Facilities, a Texas-based operator owned by Macquarie Asset Administration, in a deal that would worth the corporate at almost $40 billion, in response to a number of individuals conversant in the discussions. The transaction, which may very well be finalized as early as subsequent week, underscores how the AI increase is reshaping world funding in information middle infrastructure.
If accomplished, the acquisition would mark one of many largest information middle offers to this point, highlighting the growing convergence between digital infrastructure and conventional power funding. GIP – now a part of BlackRock following a $12.5 billion acquisition earlier this yr – has been aggressively increasing its portfolio to seize demand from AI-driven workloads that require huge energy and cooling assets.
Aligned Information Facilities, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 78 information facilities throughout 48 campuses in america, Canada, and South America. The corporate has positioned itself as a sustainability-focused operator, providing adaptive information middle options designed for hyperscalers, cloud suppliers, and enormous enterprises. Earlier this yr, Aligned Data Centers raised $7 billion in debt and $5 billion in fairness from Macquarie-managed funds to speed up enlargement and platform innovation, additional cementing its position as a significant participant in North America’s fast-growing digital infrastructure market.
The deal might additionally contain MGX, an AI funding automobile based by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Funding Firm, which can take part as an impartial co-investor. Mubadala, which already holds stakes in Aligned, has been lively in world AI and digital infrastructure investments, significantly people who combine information processing and sustainable energy era.
AI, Cloud, and Power Belongings Converge
For GIP, the transfer aligns with its broader technique of pairing power and digital infrastructure belongings. The agency, which additionally owns stakes in Gatwick Airport and pipeline networks throughout the U.S. and Center East, has reportedly been in separate talks to accumulate utility large AES Corp in a $38 billion deal that will bolster its power portfolio to assist AI-related demand.
The acquisition of Aligned Data Centers would proceed a wave of large-scale information middle transactions this yr as traders search publicity to belongings positioned on the intersection of AI, cloud computing, and energy infrastructure.
Rising electrical energy consumption and the rising want for resilient, scalable amenities have pushed valuations sharply increased, with hyperscale demand reworking information facilities from area of interest actual property belongings into core infrastructure investments.
Sources emphasised that the GIP-Aligned talks are ongoing, and no last settlement has been reached. Deal phrases might nonetheless shift, or negotiations might finish and not using a transaction. Nonetheless, if accomplished, the acquisition would rank among the many largest infrastructure offers of 2025, reflecting how AI is accelerating consolidation throughout the worldwide information middle sector.
