Private credit storm in the eyes of Blue Owl (OWL.US) wants to ride the AI wave StackACR HOLDINGS strengthens to ignite the "AI infrastructure narrative".

Media cited reports disclosed by informed sources that Stack Infrastructure Inc., a large data center company owned by Blue Owl Capital, one of the largest alternative asset management companies in the United States, is considering various options, including selling its Asian business. Blue Owl, currently in the eye of a private credit storm, recently announced relatively strong performance, and global fixed income investment giant PIMCO acquired bonds issued by BDC under Blue Owl, calming the market's panic around private credit from its peak in March, but it is far from being completely dispelled. Informed sources revealed that Stack, headquartered in Denver, has been in discussions with potential financial advisors regarding the partial or complete sale of its data center infrastructure assets in Australia, Japan, and Malaysia. As these discussions are being held privately, these sources requested to remain anonymous. These sources, aware of the latest developments, stated that the valuation of this potential transaction involving the Asian data center business could exceed $30 billion. The sources mentioned that other infrastructure-focused funds and industry participants may be interested in the business and added that the considerations are still in the preliminary stages and no final decision has been made. A representative of Blue Owl declined to comment, while Stack did not respond to requests for comments. Data center companies have attracted significant interest from institutional investors in recent years, mainly due to their close relationship with the unprecedented global artificial intelligence boom, which serves as the core engine behind technologies like ChatGPT, Claude, Siasun Robot & Automation, and AI intelligent agents focused on AI workflows. PIMCO's acquisition of Blue Owl BDC bonds, as well as Blue Owl's AUM growing to $314.9 billion year-over-year, show positive signals indicating that private credit panic has shifted from "systematic stampede" to "differentiated pricing." At the same time, the potential $30 billion sale of Stack's Asian business is gradually steering Blue Owl away from a single private credit pressure narrative towards a narrative dominated by the "AI data center physical asset reassessment" driven by "AI infrastructure investments." Driven by strong demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence reasoning power, and digital services, global institutional investors have been pouring substantial funds into the burgeoning data center industry in Asia. The Asia-Pacific region has been the most active area for data center transactions, with sources indicating that Digital Edge, supported by Stonepeak Partners, is exploring potential large-scale sales. Additionally, Bain Capital is evaluating Bridge Data Centres, and Princeton Digital Group has hired the Asia-Pacific investment team of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which could lead to another billion-dollar deal. DayOne Data Centers Ltd. is considering an initial public offering in the United States. According to Stack's official website, the company operates large-scale data centers in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Blue Owl, an alternative asset management company, acquired Stack when it acquired IPI Partners LLC last year. Stack expanded into the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, establishing its regional headquarters in Singapore and aiming to achieve organic growth through partnerships with landowners and real estate developers, while actively seeking acquisitions. Sources indicated in February of this year that Stack was seeking a loan of approximately AUD$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) to accelerate its development in the Australian market. In October last year, the company completed a JPY 39.7 billion (approximately US$253 million) green financing to expand its large industrial park with 36 MW capacity located near Inzai City, Tokyo. For Blue Owl, the "AI infrastructure narrative" may drive valuation expansion During the peak liquidity crisis in the private credit market in March, institutional/retail investors focused on questioning the loan quality, valuation transparency, redemption liquidity, and the impact of AI on non-traded BDC/private credit fund borrowers. Alternative asset management institutions like KKR and Blue Owl, in the midst of the private credit storm, experienced collective pressure on their stock prices, with the core contradiction emerging as the market began reevaluating loan quality and underwriting discipline in private credit. Meanwhile, the International Financial Stability Board also issued a warning, indicating that the deepening links between private credit and banks, insurance companies, and asset managers pose systematic risks related to transparency, default rates, retail fund inflows, and liquidity mismatches. In other words, Blue Owl is not a standalone risk, but one of the most closely monitored platforms in this round of "private credit repricing." However, compared to the most fearful phase in March, the recent sentiment has indeed cooled significantly: Ares raised a record $30 billion in the first quarter, referred to by some Wall Street analysts as an important signal to alleviate concerns about the "doomsday scenario" in private credit; recent reports in the media indicate that while the private credit industry remains under pressure, some funds continue to attract new capital. For Blue Owl itself, its first-quarter AUM grew by 15% year-over-year to approximately $314.9 billion, supported by fee-related income and physical asset business; PIMCO acquired all $400 million of bonds issued by BDC under Blue Owl, signaling that high-quality institutional funds are still willing to take on Blue Owl credit risk. In other words, the financial market's panic surrounding private credit has not disappeared, but has shifted from "systematic stampede" to "platform differentiation pricing": the market is beginning to differentiate who has asset quality, who has financing channels, and who has tangible physical assets that can be monetized. The potential sale of Stack's Asian business for over $30 billion signals a positive "revaluation of assets" for Blue Owl, indicating that the "AI infrastructure narrative" that has driven global stock markets into a long-term bull market trajectory in recent years may also sweep through Blue Owl itself, driving a new round of valuation expansion for Blue Owl. This demonstrates that Blue Owl is not only about the private credit narrative; the data center platform acquired by IPI Partners is reshaping global AI infrastructure construction in a way that is being priced anew. If ACR Holdings were to partially or fully divest, potential implications may include releasing liquidity, validating data center asset valuations, reducing market discounts on single private credit risk exposure, and reinforcing Blue Owl's repositioning as a multi-platform asset management company focused on "credit, physical assets, and AI infrastructure." However, these discussions surrounding AI data centers are still in their early stages and should not be seen as completed deleveraging or valuation realization. Undoubtedly, Blue Owl still finds itself in the midst of the private credit storm, but holding the card of AI data center assets may help the market reassess its balance sheet flexibility and medium-to-long-term valuation anchors.