GIP nears US$40 billion deal to buy Aligned Data Centers in bet on AI

[NEW YORK] Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers in one of the biggest deals of the year, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Aligned could be valued at about US$40 billion in a transaction, said one of the sources.

An agreement could be announced within days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

MGX, an artificial intelligence (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 sources said. Mubadala has already separately invested in Aligned Data Centers.

GIP, now part of BlackRock, has not reached a final agreement and some details could change or the talks could still end without a transaction, the sources said.

A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment. Representatives for Aligned, Macquarie and Mubadala did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.

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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. Mubadala also maintains a strategic partnership with BlackRock, according to the fund’s website.

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, Aligned 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 data centre infrastructure they rely on. BLOOMBERG