Aligned Data Centers has been sold to a consortium led by AI Infrastructure Partnership, MGX, and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners in a transaction valuing the company at about $40 billion, according to a press release from legal adviser Sterlington. The deal ranks as the largest data center acquisition on record and hands the buyer group a scaled platform with 51 campuses and more than 6.4GW of operational and planned capacity.
That footprint is the point. Investors are no longer buying generic digital infrastructure exposure. They are buying scarce access to powered land, utility relationships, development pipelines, and the ability to deliver capacity fast enough for hyperscalers racing to support AI workloads. In that context, Aligned offers more than stabilized assets. It offers a development engine at a moment when cloud and model-training demand is colliding with grid constraints and long construction lead times.
The buyer list also matters. AI Infrastructure Partnership was formed in 2024 by BlackRock, GIP, MGX, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, a lineup that blends capital, customer insight, and ecosystem influence. That suggests this transaction is as much about securing future capacity as it is about financial return. For large investors, owning the platform can be more attractive than competing for leases in an increasingly supply-constrained market.
Acquire.fyi data shows technology M&A value has reached $233.6 billion year to date, up 76.8%, even as sector deal volume has fallen 12.7%. The pattern fits Aligned. Fewer deals are getting done, but the assets that control strategic bottlenecks are commanding outsized valuations.
The transaction also sharpens the pressure on rivals such as Equinix, Digital Realty, Vantage, and other private developers to lock in power and expansion sites before pricing moves further. Expect more capital to flow toward developers with shovel-ready campuses and utility access, and more scrutiny from customers over who can actually deliver megawatts on schedule. In AI infrastructure, capacity has become a form of market power.
Source: Company press release and Acquire.fyi's proprietary data
