• Transaction marks the largest data-centre deal on record, buying 100% of equity from Macquarie-managed funds
• A $5bn expansion commitment signals the consortium's plan to convert planned capacity into operational campuses
The fact
The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, MGX and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners have completed their acquisition of Aligned Data Centers from funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management and its co-investors. The consortium bought 100% of Aligned’s equity in a transaction giving the company an enterprise value of approximately $40bn.
Aligned operates and develops 51 campuses across North and South America, with more than 6.4GW of operational and planned capacity. Its existing management team, led by chief executive Andrew Schaap, will remain in place, and the company will continue operating independently from its Dallas headquarters. The consortium has also committed another $5bn to support expansion. The acquisition is AIP’s first investment since it was established to mobilise capital for data centres and related infrastructure.
The assessment
Aligned will remain independently run by its existing management, so the acquisition does not immediately change who develops or operates its campuses. Ownership has changed, and the new owners have committed another $5bn to support expansion. They have not said which projects will receive the funding or when those projects could open.
The additional capital can support Aligned’s development pipeline, but it does not make planned capacity operational. The company’s 6.4GW figure combines facilities already in service with projects that have not yet been delivered. Each planned campus still needs project funding, power, approvals and construction before its capacity becomes available to customers.
For BTW readers, the transaction gives an established data-centre developer more capital while keeping the current operating team in place. Project-level funding, construction starts and openings will provide the first evidence of how the acquisition changes Aligned’s portfolio. No increase in operating capacity has yet been disclosed.
What to watch
Watch where Aligned allocates the additional $5bn and which projects enter construction. Updated figures separating operating, under-construction and planned capacity, together with construction and opening dates, would show how much of the 6.4GW portfolio is moving towards service and how the new capital is being used.