BlackRock and IFM Investors Enter Exclusive Talks on $25 Billion Data Center Acquisition

BlackRock and Australia's IFM Investors have moved into exclusive negotiations on a $25 billion data center acquisition, according to people familiar with the discussions. The transaction would rank among the largest infrastructure deals closed this year and represents BlackRock's continued acceleration into physical AI compute assets. Neither firm has disclosed the target portfolio, though the exclusivity period suggests advanced due diligence and probable letter of intent.

The deal extends a pattern visible since mid-2024. BlackRock closed $16 billion in data center and power infrastructure transactions last year, most notably the $12.5 billion AirTrunk acquisition alongside Microsoft in October. IFM, which manages roughly $200 billion in infrastructure and debt assets, has concentrated on regulated utilities and transport but signaled interest in hyperscale compute assets as early as Q3 2024. Exclusive talks typically run 60 to 90 days in transactions of this scale, meaning definitive agreement could surface before end of Q2.

This matters because it confirms the infrastructure thesis driving allocations into stranded power and compute capacity. BlackRock has structured most of these deals as private equity or infrastructure fund vehicles, not balance sheet purchases, which means limited partner capital is chasing yield in physical AI assets at a pace that outstrips public equity flows. IFM's involvement is particularly instructive: Australian superannuation funds have strict return mandates and long duration requirements, and their participation implies confidence that power purchase agreements and hyperscaler lease structures can deliver mid-teens unlevered IRRs over 15-year holds. The $25 billion figure also suggests a portfolio rather than a single-site transaction, likely spanning multiple U.S. regions or including offshore facilities in Northern Europe or Southeast Asia where power availability remains less constrained.

The second-order effect is pricing. If BlackRock and IFM are willing to pay multiples that imply $25 billion enterprise value, other infrastructure managers will reprice their own holdco expectations upward, compressing cap rates across the sector. That tightening is already visible: Blackstone's QTS and Digital Realty are trading at forward EBITDA multiples near 22x, up from 16x in early 2024. The deal also signals that power infrastructure—substations, transformer capacity, grid interconnects—has become the binding constraint, not rack space. Allocators should note that the real value in these transactions lies in secured utility offtake agreements and embedded optionality on renewable generation, not the buildings themselves.

Operators and allocators should watch for the target portfolio's geographic footprint, expected to be disclosed if the deal reaches definitive agreement in May or June. Separately, monitor filings from Equinix, CyrusOne, and CoreSite, any of which could be partial or whole sale candidates if this transaction closes and resets sector benchmarks. IFM's Australian pension mandates require board approval for deals above $10 billion, so expect visibility into pricing assumptions and return hurdles within 45 days if exclusivity holds.

BlackRock has now committed or deployed north of $40 billion into data center and grid infrastructure since January 2024, a figure that exceeds its total energy transition fund AUM as recently as 2023. The firm is no longer testing the thesis—it is pricing the entire curve.