Report: BlackRock, Inc. (BLK.US) and IFM Close to Finalizing $25 Billion Acquisition of Stack Asia-Pacific Data Centers

A consortium backed by BlackRock, Inc. (BLK.US) and IFM Investors Pty has entered exclusive talks for a potential acquisition of Stack Infrastructure Inc.'s Asia-Pacific data centers, according to people familiar with the matter. The investor group which includes BlackRock, Inc.-backed Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP for short) and IFM is preparing to conduct due diligence on the assets, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The deal could value the portfolio at about $20 billion to $25 billion, they said. The bidders plan to reach an agreement with Stack owner Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL.US) as soon as possible, the people said. Stack was previously reported to be considering a sale of the data centers, with AIP and IFM among potential bidders. Blue Owl initially sought a valuation of more than $30 billion for the assets, the people said earlier. Deliberations are ongoing and talks could last longer or fall apart, the people said. Data centers and related infrastructure have become a hot area for M&A deals in Asia as global funds seek exposure to industries and regions benefiting from the rapid growth of AI. AIP's founding parties include BlackRock, Inc.'s Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) and MGX, which is backed by Mubadala Investment Co. The group aims to invest in and expand AI infrastructure. Its first deal was the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers announced in October last year. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), the Kuwait Investment Authority and Temasek Holdings are also investors in AIP. Representatives for BlackRock, Inc., GIP, IFM, MGX, Blue Owl and Stack did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Stack's Asia-Pacific data centers are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Melbourne, Sydney and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, according to its website.