BlackRock’s $27 Billion Data Center Venture Signals Infrastructure Bet on AI Boom

BlackRock's infrastructure arm Global Infrastructure Partners is nearing a landmark $27 billion deal with Spain's ACS Group to co-develop data centers. The transaction involves GIP acquiring 50% of ACS Digital & Energy through a $6 billion equity commitment and $21 billion in debt financing—valuing the unit at the premium end of its target range.

This marks GIP's second major infrastructure play in six weeks, following its participation in the $40 billion Aligned Data Centers acquisition alongside Microsoft and Nvidia. The asset manager now oversees $180 billion in infrastructure assets globally, with a pending $38 billion bid for AES Corp underscoring its conviction in energy-transition infrastructure.

Morgan Stanley estimates tech firms will deploy $400 billion into AI infrastructure this year alone. BlackRock's aggressive positioning through GIP reflects a calculated wager that data centers—the physical backbone of AI computation—will become critical yield-generating assets in the digital economy.