Blackstone has agreed to acquire AirTrunk in a deal valuing the Australian data centre operator at A$24 billion (S$21.02 billion), including debt and capital expenditure for committed projects.
The New York-based alternative asset manager, along with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is buying AirTrunk from Macquarie Group and PSP Investments, according to a statement on Wednesday (Sep 4). The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by year-end.
The acquisition is Blackstone’s biggest-ever investment in the Asia-Pacific region, outweighing its A$8.9 billion takeover of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts in 2022. It’s also one of the biggest in digital infrastructure deals globally this year.
Assets such as data centres, mobile phone towers and fibre networks have become popular targets for investors, given their stable returns and strong growth prospects as humanity becomes increasingly reliant upon technology.
Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Blackstone was nearing a deal to buy AirTrunk for more than A$20 billion. The firm, which has been in debt-financing talks with banks, emerged as the buyer after competing with a consortium that included DigitalBridge Group, Global Infrastructure Partners, IFM Investors Pty and Silver Lake Management, according to people familiar with the matter.
AirTrunk operates data centres in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia, according to its website. A group led by Macquarie’s infrastructure arm took control of the company in 2020 in a deal that valued it at about A$3 billion, Bloomberg reported at the time. Prior to that, it was owned by investors including Goldman Sachs Group’s special situations division. BLOOMBERG
