Alternative asset management firm Ares Management (ARES.US) is heavily betting on AI! $2.4 billion debt financing will help Vantage Data Center infrastructure construction.

Alternative asset management company Ares Management (ARES.US) is providing $2.4 billion in debt financing to Vantage Data Centers, with some of the funds potentially being used to support the infrastructure needed for the collaboration between Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US) and OpenAI. In an email statement, Ares stated that it has agreed to provide Vantage with a financing amount of $1.6 billion and has already disbursed approximately $330 million for the project. These funds will be used to support data center development, construction, and operation within Vantage's North American investment portfolio, as well as for refinancing existing debt. With the rise of the artificial intelligence wave, Ares and other lenders are ramping up capital to support the construction of related infrastructure. The Los Angeles-based company had previously announced plans to raise over $8 billion in equity funds in the near term to support data center-related investments. Ares noted that Vantage's portfolio includes 17 campuses primarily used to support cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies. The assets in this portfolio are leased out to major cloud computing service providers through long-term lease agreements. Reportedly, DigitalBridge Group Inc. is the major backer of Vantage. The company agreed to be acquired by SoftBank Group, owned by Masayoshi Son, for approximately $3 billion in cash at the end of last year. Its portfolio also includes several digital infrastructure operators: Aims Group, AtlasEdge, DataBank, Switch, and Yondr Group.