BlackRock and MGX Close $40 Billion Aligned Data Centers Deal, Commit $5 Billion More

BlackRock Leads Record $40 Billion Aligned Data Centers Acquisition

The largest data-center deal ever recorded has closed, with a consortium led by BlackRock and Abu Dhabi's MGX completing its $40 billion purchase of Aligned Data Centers 1

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. The AI Infrastructure Partnership, MGX, and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners finalized the acquisition of all equity in the Texas-based developer, marking a historic moment for digital infrastructure investment 2

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. The deal represents the clearest signal yet of how aggressively capital is pursuing AI infrastructure, as investors bet that computing capacity will remain scarce relative to surging AI-driven computing demands.

The seller, Macquarie Asset Management, had owned Aligned Data Centers since 2018, when the company operated just two sites with 85 megawatts of capacity 1

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. Today, the company spans 51 data center campuses with more than 6.4 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity across the United States and South America 2

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. Founded in 2013, Aligned builds and operates facilities for hyperscalers and cloud providers, positioning itself as a critical supplier of AI computing power.

Consortium Commits Additional $5 Billion in Growth Capital

Closing the Aligned Data Centers acquisition was only the beginning of the spending spree. The consortium immediately committed a fresh $5 billion in growth capital to expand the company's AI-ready infrastructure capacity 1

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. This additional investment underscores the buyers' conviction that demand for computing power will continue outpacing supply, making physical assets with reliable power and cooling systems increasingly valuable. The move positions Aligned to accelerate development of facilities capable of handling the intensive workloads required by AI tools such as ChatGPT and other advanced applications.

Andrew Schaap, who has served as chief executive of Aligned Data Centers since 2017, will continue leading the company through its next growth phase 2

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. His team brings expertise in efficiency-focused design, with Aligned holding more than 50 patents on cooling technologies that reduce water and power consumption—a growing concern as massive campuses strain local electrical grids 1

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Who Controls AI's Physical Backbone

The buyer lineup reads like a directory of global financial power. The AI Infrastructure Partnership was formed in 2024 by BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, MGX, Microsoft, and Nvidia, making this data-center deal its inaugural transaction 1

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. The partnership aims to deploy $30 billion in equity capital initially, with potential to reach $100 billion when including debt financing 2

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MGX brings sovereign wealth to the table. Chaired by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and backed by Mubadala and G42, MGX raised $49 billion this month for one of the largest AI funds ever assembled 1

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. Global Infrastructure Partners, now part of BlackRock, manages over $200 billion in assets. The scale of capital behind this consortium reflects how seriously institutional investors are taking the infrastructure requirements of artificial intelligence.

The Infrastructure Land Grab Intensifies

This acquisition caps a sustained frenzy in digital infrastructure investment. Major firms from KKR to Brookfield have piled into the sector, while Blackstone paid approximately $10 billion for QTS back in 2021 1

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. AI has transformed data centers from utilitarian facilities into some of the most sought-after assets in global finance. The wave of investment reflects both opportunity and anxiety—whoever controls the buildings with adequate power and cooling holds something increasingly scarce.

Yet the $45 billion total commitment rests on a critical assumption. If AI demand continues its current trajectory, the price looks reasonable for 6.4 gigawatts of capacity serving cloud computing companies and hyperscalers. If demand stalls or AI development hits unexpected constraints, the same buildings become an expensive wager 1

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. For now, the world's largest investors are voting with their checkbooks, betting that AI-driven computing demands will only intensify in the years ahead.