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**$40B** Aligned acquisition closed with same-day **$5B** expansion pledge—BlackRock is buying power allocation speed, not buildings.
$40 billion
acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and committed
$5 billion
for immediate expansion
1.5 gigawatts
of operating and under-construction capacity across
15
North American facilities
A BlackRock-led consortium closed its $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers and committed $5 billion for immediate expansion, marking the largest data center infrastructure transaction in a market where power-constrained capacity is already trading at premiums. The buyer group—Abu Dhabi Investment Authority-backed AIP, Abu Dhabi sovereign fund MGX, and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners—took control of Aligned's 1.5 gigawatts of operating and under-construction capacity across 15 North American facilities. The expansion capital was announced the same day the deal closed, not phased in over quarters.
Aligned operates what infrastructure allocators call "hyperscale-ready" campuses—facilities pre-configured for the 100+ megawatt single-tenant deployments that Microsoft, Meta, and Google now require for AI training clusters. The company's Phoenix and Salt Lake City sites sit on substations with 500+ megawatt transformer capacity, a detail that matters when the average new AI data center draws 300 megawatts and utility interconnection queues in Virginia and Texas now stretch 36 months. Aligned's pipeline includes 11 expansion sites with secured power allocations, a competitive moat in a market where land without power is nearly worthless. The $5 billion commitment will fund 400-600 megawatts of new capacity, based on current construction costs of $8-12 million per megawatt for AI-grade infrastructure.
The speed of the capital commitment signals something allocators should note: BlackRock is not buying a steady infrastructure yield. The firm is buying a construction machine in a market where every hyperscaler is competing for the same 2-3% of U.S. data center capacity that can deliver power in 12-18 months instead of 36. MGX's involvement is particularly telling—the Abu Dhabi fund was created eight months ago specifically to deploy capital into AI infrastructure, and this is its first disclosed major position. That creates a different risk profile than a typical infrastructure hold. The consortium is effectively long electricity availability and short permitting risk, a bet that Aligned's existing utility relationships and site control are worth more than the buildings themselves.
Operators should track three follow-on events. First, Aligned's next power purchase agreements with utilities in Arizona and Utah, expected within 90 days, will indicate whether the $5 billion is earmarked for specific hyperscaler contracts already in negotiation. Second, watch whether BlackRock's GIP raises a dedicated digital infrastructure fund in Q2 2025—prior GIP energy funds required $15-20 billion minimums, and a new vehicle would suggest this is a platform play, not a one-off. Third, monitor whether AIP or MGX co-invest in adjacent power generation assets—several Aligned campuses sit near natural gas plants that could be upgraded to dedicated data center feed, and sovereign funds are already buying generation capacity in Texas and the Carolinas.
The $40 billion valuation implies Aligned traded at roughly 26-27x trailing EBITDA, double the multiple paid for CyrusOne in 2021. That spread is the cost of power certainty in 2025.
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For the principal
If you hold unleveraged commercial real estate, consider rotating 3-5% into power-advantaged digital infrastructure before hyperscaler bidding wars compress cap rates further.
For the operator
Aligned's 26-27x EBITDA multiple sets new floor for assets with sub-18-month power delivery—update DCF models for competing platforms accordingly and flag co-location names.
For the house
Long EQX, DLR calls through June expiry; short commercial REIT index as rotation into power-secured assets continues—Aligned comp lifts all hyperscale-exposed names 8-12%.
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