A major investment consortium, which includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and Abu Dhabi's MGX fund, has announced a $40 billion agreement to acquire Aligned Data Centers. This acquisition marks a significant move to build the essential infrastructure required to support the rapid growth of artificial intelligence.
The deal targets one of the world's largest data center operators and is the first major transaction for the newly formed AI Infrastructure Partnership, a group created to address the surging demand for AI computing power.
Key Takeaways
- A consortium including BlackRock, GIP, and MGX will acquire Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion.
- The acquisition is funded by the AI Infrastructure Partnership, which has a $100 billion capital pool.
- Partners in the initiative include major tech firms like Nvidia, Microsoft, and xAI.
- The plan involves more than doubling Aligned's 50 existing data center campuses across the US and Latin America to meet AI demand.
A Landmark Investment in AI Infrastructure
An investment group with major global players has finalized the acquisition of Texas-based Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management. The consortium features a powerful lineup of financial and technology leaders, including asset manager BlackRock, its affiliate Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign AI fund, MGX.
Technology giants are also integral to the partnership. Key members include semiconductor leader Nvidia, cloud computing provider Microsoft, and Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI. This diverse group highlights a coordinated effort to build the physical foundation needed for the next wave of AI development.
The acquisition is the first initiative from the AI Infrastructure Partnership, which was established a year ago. The partnership aims to combine financial capital with specialized technical expertise to overcome the challenges of building data centers at the scale and speed required by the AI boom.
The $100 Billion AI Infrastructure Partnership
At the core of this strategy is a massive $100 billion capital pool created by the AI Infrastructure Partnership. This fund is specifically designed to acquire and develop data center companies to meet the explosive demand for computing resources.
The fund is structured with $30 billion in equity and an additional $70 billion in debt financing. This financial power will be used to secure critical resources, including high-performance semiconductors, industrial materials, land, and the enormous amounts of energy needed for modern data centers.
Who is Backing the Partnership?
Beyond the headline names, the consortium is supported by a wide range of global investors and industry suppliers. Sovereign wealth funds like Singapore’s Temasek and the Kuwait Investment Authority are providing significant financial backing. Key industrial partners, including GE Vernova, utility company NextEra Energy, and networking giant Cisco, are also members, ensuring the partnership has access to the energy and equipment supply chains.
The primary goal is to address the infrastructure bottleneck that threatens to slow down AI innovation. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta Platforms require immense computational power for training and deploying their AI models, a need that current data center capacity struggles to meet.
Strategic Goals and Expansion Plans
The acquisition of Aligned Data Centers is just the beginning of the consortium's ambitions. The group plans an aggressive expansion strategy for Aligned, aiming to more than double its current footprint of 50 data center campuses located throughout the United States and Latin America.
Adebayo Ogunlesi, chief executive of GIP, explained the unique value of the partnership in an interview with the Financial Times. He emphasized the collaborative approach to solving complex problems.
“Together, we can address critical questions: how to design the right data centres, how to solve water and energy challenges, and how to respond to customers’ needs. That’s what’s unique about the partnership — it hasn’t been replicated anywhere else.”
This integrated model, combining investors, tech companies, and utility providers, is designed to streamline the difficult process of data center construction, which often faces delays due to land acquisition, power grid limitations, and supply chain issues.
Meeting Massive Global Demand
Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, CEO of MGX, highlighted the scale of the demand the partnership aims to fulfill. According to Al Idrissi, the global need for new data center capacity is approximately 20 gigawatts per year. He estimates that about half of this demand, or 10 gigawatts, is located in the United States alone.
A New Financial Model for Tech Infrastructure
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, described a strategic financial benefit of this initiative for large technology companies. The partnership will build and own the specialized data centers, leasing them to tech giants rather than requiring those companies to build the facilities themselves.
This model allows major tech firms to keep these massive infrastructure assets off their balance sheets. According to Fink, this can help them command higher stock valuations by focusing their capital on core AI research and software development.
Fink also noted that the deal demonstrates the strategic value of BlackRock's $12.5 billion acquisition of GIP, which was completed last year. The combination of BlackRock's financial scale and GIP's infrastructure expertise was crucial to forming the partnership.
“To me, this is a perfect marriage of Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem and its commitment to AI, combined with the strength of BlackRock and GIP,” Fink stated.
By financing these large-scale projects with capital from pensioners and sovereign wealth funds, the partnership creates a new investment channel for long-term, stable returns while providing the tech industry with the critical infrastructure it needs to continue its rapid growth trajectory.