(Bloomberg) — Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers, targeting a major beneficiary of the AI spending boom in what would be one of the year’s biggest deals, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Aligned could be valued at about $40 billion in a transaction, said one of the people. An agreement could be announced within days, the people added, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
MGX, an AI investment company established by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., is also involved in the talks and would invest independently as part of a transaction, one of the people said. Mubadala has separately already invested in Aligned.
GIP, now part of BlackRock Inc., hasn’t reached a final agreement and some details might change or the talks could still end without a transaction, the people said.
A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment. Representatives for Aligned, Macquarie and Mubadala didn’t respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
The envisioned acquisition marks the latest in a parade of eye-popping deals since ChatGPT emerged, as investors vie for exposure to the leaders of a technology with the potential to transform industries and economies. They’ve piled into infrastructure providers such as chip linchpins Nvidia Corp. and SK Hynix Inc., pushed up valuations of startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, and poured capital into all manner of gear suppliers to the AI boom.
The surge in valuations has worried some market observers who argue that, while data center spending and construction is accelerating, AI services have yet to go mainstream and earn the revenues needed to justify the near-unprecedented rally.
“If the technology doesn’t catch up and doesn’t deliver as per the high expectations that the market’s pricing in, then we’re in for a bubble,” GIC Pte group CIO Bryan Yeo told the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Friday.
In recent years, digital infrastructure in particular has become a popular target for global investors looking for stable returns and growth. It’s also one of the busiest assets for dealmaking, despite concerns that the new capacity may eventually outstrip demand.
(Bloomberg) — Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Macquarie-backed Aligned Data Centers, targeting a major beneficiary of the AI spending boom in what would be one of the year’s biggest deals, according to people familiar with the matter.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Aligned could be valued at about $40 billion in a transaction, said one of the people. An agreement could be announced within days, the people added, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
MGX, an AI investment company established by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., is also involved in the talks and would invest independently as part of a transaction, one of the people said. Mubadala has separately already invested in Aligned.
GIP, now part of BlackRock Inc., hasn’t reached a final agreement and some details might change or the talks could still end without a transaction, the people said.
A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment. Representatives for Aligned, Macquarie and Mubadala didn’t respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
The envisioned acquisition marks the latest in a parade of eye-popping deals since ChatGPT emerged, as investors vie for exposure to the leaders of a technology with the potential to transform industries and economies. They’ve piled into infrastructure providers such as chip linchpins Nvidia Corp. and SK Hynix Inc., pushed up valuations of startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, and poured capital into all manner of gear suppliers to the AI boom.
The surge in valuations has worried some market observers who argue that, while data center spending and construction is accelerating, AI services have yet to go mainstream and earn the revenues needed to justify the near-unprecedented rally.
“If the technology doesn’t catch up and doesn’t deliver as per the high expectations that the market’s pricing in, then we’re in for a bubble,” GIC Pte group CIO Bryan Yeo told the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Friday.
In recent years, digital infrastructure in particular has become a popular target for global investors looking for stable returns and growth. It’s also one of the busiest assets for dealmaking, despite concerns that the new capacity may eventually outstrip demand.
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