(Sept 24): A consortium backed by BlackRock Inc and IFM Investors Pty has entered exclusive talks for a potential acquisition of Stack Infrastructure Inc’s Asia-Pacific data centres, people familiar with the matter said.

The investor group — which includes the BlackRock-backed Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, known as AIP, as well as IFM — is preparing to conduct due diligence on the assets, the people said. A deal could value the portfolio at around US$20 billion to US$25 billion (RM81.5 billion to RM101.9 billion), according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The suitors aim to reach an agreement soon with Stack’s owner, Blue Owl Capital Inc, the people said. Bloomberg News reported previously that Stack was considering a sale of the data centres and that AIP and IFM were among potential bidders. Blue Owl was initially seeking a valuation of more than US$30 billion for the assets, people with knowledge of the matter said previously.

Deliberations are ongoing and talks could drag on or fall apart, the people said. Other suitors may also still be interested in the assets, they added.

Data centres and related infrastructure have come to the forefront of dealmaking in Asia, with global funds seeking exposure to a sector and region riding high on AI’s rapid growth. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump are meeting this week to discuss issues including AI, with neither showing any intention of slowing down development despite warnings of potential dangers.

AIP’s founders include BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft Corp and Mubadala Investment Co-backed MGX. The group aims to invest in and expand AI infrastructure. Its first deal was a US$40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centres announced in October. Nvidia Corp, the Kuwait Investment Authority and Temasek Holdings Pte are also investors in AIP.

Representatives for BlackRock, GIP, IFM, MGX, Blue Owl and Stack didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Stack’s Apac data centres are in Tokyo, Osaka, Melbourne, Sydney and Johor Bahru in Malaysia, its website shows.

 Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja