A consortium backed by BlackRock Inc. and Australian infrastructure manager IFM Investors has secured exclusivity on a $25 billion acquisition of Stack Infrastructure's Asia-Pacific data center portfolio. The transaction, if closed, would mark one of the largest single infrastructure deals in the region this cycle and the second major hyperscale data center transaction involving BlackRock in eleven months.
Stack Infrastructure operates eighteen colocation and hyperscale facilities across Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Seoul with 1.2 gigawatts of contracted capacity. The portfolio includes four facilities under construction in Sydney and Singapore scheduled for delivery between Q4 2026 and Q2 2027. The consortium has until mid-December to complete due diligence or extend exclusivity. Stack's North American and European operations are not included in the current talks.
This transaction surfaces at the intersection of three structural shifts: accelerating AI model training demand pushing data sovereignty requirements into APAC markets, hyperscalers willing to lock in multi-decade capacity commitments at premium yields, and a narrowing pool of operational portfolios capable of absorbing $10 billion-plus equity checks without regulatory entanglement. Singapore and Australia have both tightened data center permitting over the past eighteen months due to power grid constraints, which makes operational assets significantly more valuable than greenfield sites. BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Fund III has $17.2 billion in dry powder and has publicly stated a preference for digital infrastructure with contracted revenue visibility beyond seven years. IFM manages $198 billion across infrastructure and debt, with data centers representing its fastest-growing sector allocation since 2023. The partnership structure mirrors their $3.1 billion joint acquisition of AirTrunk's Melbourne campus in November 2025, suggesting repeat execution confidence.
Allocators should watch three developments. First, whether the consortium negotiates right-of-first-offer clauses on Stack's European portfolio, which includes six facilities in Frankfurt and Amsterdam currently being marketed separately. Second, whether the transaction includes embedded power purchase agreements or forces the buyers to negotiate grid capacity independently—a critical detail that can swing IRR by 180 basis points in constrained markets like Singapore. Third, the post-close capital deployment pace: Stack's pipeline includes 2.4 gigawatts of potential expansion capacity on existing land parcels, but actual construction depends on signed hyperscaler commitments, not speculative builds. If the consortium moves quickly on funded expansions, it signals confidence that APAC AI infrastructure demand is durable beyond current model training cycles.
Stack Infrastructure's parent company, IPI Partners, acquired the business in 2019 for $2.15 billion and has since executed $8.6 billion in facility expansions and refinancings. A $25 billion exit would represent an 11.6x gross multiple over seven years, though the actual realized return depends on how much incremental equity IPI deployed during the hold period. The consortium's exclusivity expires December 14, with a thirty-day extension option if material regulatory approvals remain outstanding.