BlackRock, ACS Reach $27B Partnership To Develop Data Centers
The world's largest asset manager is continuing its push into the digital infrastructure space, striking a deal for a new partnership targeting data center development.
BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners will form a joint venture with Spanish construction company ACS to develop data centers, The Wall Street Journal reports. The deal is valued at almost $26.8B, Reuters reported.
“One year ago, we set out a strategy based on a clear vision: to become a global benchmark in the development of the critical infrastructure of the future,” ACS Group CEO Juan Santamaría said in a statement at an investor day Friday. “Today, that vision continues to advance with firm momentum.”
The deal is specific to ACS Digital & Energy, with GIP progressively contributing €5B ($5.8B) in equity and €18B ($20.9B) in debt, according to Reuters.
The 50-50 partnership’s portfolio will comprise ACS’ existing data center assets in the U.S., Europe and Australia after closing, with an initial value of $2.3B, the WSJ reported.
ACS is ponying up its portfolio to the joint venture in exchange for €1B ($1.16B) in cash and up to another €1B in initial earnout payments if the partners meet commercial milestones.
The Spanish firm could also receive as much as €200M ($232M) for additional projects under review. It is looking at projects in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific that would exceed 11 gigawatts.
The Spanish company aims to hit a $3B to $5B valuation for its data center business by 2030, with the GIP partnership boosting prices to the upper end of that scale.
Investor GIP has been expanding into the infrastructure space since BlackRock’s $12.5B acquisition of the company in January 2024.
GIP now manages more than $180B in assets globally. Since the merger, it has thrown its hat in the ring for controversial projects as far apart as Minnesota and Malaysia, Bloomberg previously reported.
Last month, BlackRock was part of an artificial intelligence infrastructure-focused investor group that included Microsoft and Nvidia to acquire Aligned Data Centers, one of the largest data center operators, from Australian Macquarie Asset Management, Reuters reported.
