A consortium anchored by BlackRock and Abu Dhabi sovereign vehicle MGX committed $5 billion in growth capital to Aligned Data Centers immediately after completing its acquisition of the hyperscale platform. The Tuesday announcement marks one of the largest single post-close commitments in the data center sector this cycle.
The consortium closed its acquisition of Aligned on July 21 and disclosed the $5 billion commitment the same day. Aligned operates purpose-built facilities designed for AI workloads and hyperscale cloud tenants across eleven campuses in North America. The company's pre-acquisition pipeline included 1.8 gigawatts of contracted capacity and another 3.2 gigawatts in development.
BlackRock's infrastructure group structured the deal through its Global Infrastructure Partners platform, bringing MGX as the sovereign co-anchor. The $5 billion earmarked for growth capital sits outside the purchase price and will fund new campus construction, grid interconnection upgrades, and power procurement agreements through mid-2026. Neither party disclosed the acquisition valuation, though industry sources familiar with the process indicated a total enterprise value north of $12 billion including assumed debt.
The commitment size reflects two realities. First, hyperscale tenants are signing longer-term power contracts—10 to 15 years rather than the historical 5 to 7—to lock in capacity ahead of competitors. Second, Aligned's model relies on owning the substation and utility relationship, which requires upfront capital but produces margin advantages once operational. The consortium is betting that margin expands as power costs stabilize and tenant demand remains inelastic.
MGX has deployed over $30 billion into AI infrastructure and semiconductor supply chains since its 2023 formation. This marks its largest single commitment into a Western data center operator. BlackRock's infrastructure portfolio now holds stakes in over 9 gigawatts of data center capacity globally, concentrated in North America and Northern Europe. The firm has signaled a preference for platforms that control their own power sourcing rather than lease from third-party providers.
Allocators should watch Aligned's next two to three campus announcements, expected before year-end. The company has active site selection in Texas, Ohio, and a second location in Northern Virginia. Any announcement that includes dedicated utility agreements or on-site generation will confirm the consortium's thesis on vertical integration. Watch also for MGX's next U.S. infrastructure deployment—if it mirrors this structure, the sovereign is building a repeatable playbook for hyperscale bets.
BlackRock's infrastructure desk rarely commits this scale of growth capital in a single tranche. The move suggests the firm expects Aligned to double its operational capacity within 24 months and that tenant demand can absorb the supply without compressing lease rates. Power availability, not capital, remains the constraint.