A consortium anchored by Nvidia, BlackRock, and Microsoft is acquiring Aligned Data Centers for approximately $40 billion, according to sources familiar with the transaction. The deal puts 1.5 gigawatts of operating capacity and 4 gigawatts of development pipeline under direct control of the three firms most exposed to AI inference scaling. The transaction closes within 90 days, pending regulatory clearance that appears procedural.

Aligned operates 15 hyperscale facilities across Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Northern Virginia—markets where power availability already constrains new builds. The company holds long-term power purchase agreements averaging 18 years in duration, a structural moat that matters more than the real estate. Microsoft takes operational control of 6 facilities under the consortium agreement, while Nvidia secures priority co-location rights for its DGX and HGX systems across the remaining footprint. BlackRock Infrastructure Partners structures the acquisition vehicle and will manage $12 billion in follow-on development capital already committed by the three anchor investors.

The valuation implies $26,667 per kilowatt of operating capacity, roughly 40% above the $19,000 per kilowatt that Digital Realty paid for Interxion in 2020. That premium reflects two realities: power is the new land, and vertically integrated AI players will pay to eliminate landlord risk. Aligned's existing customer base includes Oracle, Meta, and ServiceNow, all of whom now face contract renegotiations with a landlord that runs competitive inference workloads. Expect 12-18 month migrations as those tenants either accept new terms or relocate to QTS, CyrusOne, or the remaining independents.

The consortium model sidesteps the public REIT structure that has governed data-center ownership for two decades. By keeping Aligned private, the buyers avoid quarterly disclosure of utilization rates, power costs, and customer concentration—data that would otherwise inform competitor buildout decisions. This matters because Microsoft is simultaneously expanding its 175-facility Azure footprint, and opacity on where Aligned capacity feeds that expansion creates informational asymmetry against Amazon and Google. The $12 billion development commitment suggests the group will break ground on 4-5 new campuses within 18 months, likely in Texas and the Carolinas where substation capacity remains available.

Watch three variables. First, whether Oracle and Meta renew at Aligned or announce alternative co-location partnerships within six months—a sign of how aggressively the consortium prices third-party tenants. Second, permit filings in Dallas, Austin, and Charlotte over the next two quarters, which will indicate development velocity and whether the 4 GW pipeline was underwriting theater or actual construction intent. Third, any follow-on capital raises by remaining independent operators—CyrusOne, DataBank, Vantage—who now face better-capitalized competition with vertically integrated demand.

The deal converts $40 billion of future buildout risk into a locked asset base, which is what you do when you believe inference scaling will require 10x more physical infrastructure than training did and you cannot afford to wait in line for it.