Global Infrastructure Partners is negotiating an acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, a deal sources estimate above $10 billion including assumed debt. Reuters reported active discussions between the BlackRock-backed infrastructure fund and the Utah-based data center operator, which serves enterprise clients including Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM across 12 facilities in 7 U.S. markets. No timeline for close has been disclosed.

Aligned operates 1.2 gigawatts of total capacity with 420 megawatts currently online, concentrated in Phoenix, Dallas, Northern Virginia, and Salt Lake City. The company has raised $3.7 billion in equity and debt since 2014, most recently a $925 million credit facility in November 2023. Revenue for 2023 reached approximately $580 million, up 38% year-over-year, driven by long-term contracts with weighted average lease terms exceeding 11 years. GIP would acquire both operating assets and a development pipeline representing roughly 780 megawatts of additional capacity staged through 2027.

The timing reflects structural tension in North American data center markets. Hyperscale demand from AI training workloads has compressed availability in tier-one markets to below 3% in Northern Virginia and 5% in Phoenix, according to CBRE's Q4 2024 report. Power constraints now gate expansion more than capital or construction timelines. Aligned's existing utility agreements and 18-to-36-month forward power commitments give an acquirer immediate deployment optionality that greenfield development cannot match. GIP, managing $100 billion across energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, already holds stakes in Palisade and EdgeConneX. Adding Aligned would consolidate 1.6+ gigawatts under one manager, creating leverage in utility negotiations and equipment procurement.

The deal structure likely includes earnouts tied to the development pipeline, a pattern GIP used in its $15 billion Edinburgh Airport acquisition in 2012 and repeated in the $7.4 billion Gatwick purchase in 2019. Aligned's management, led by CEO Andrew Schaap, has emphasized build-to-suit contracts that derisk construction but require patient capital through 24-to-30-month delivery cycles. GIP's perpetual vehicle structure aligns with that profile. The acquisition would also position GIP ahead of Blackstone, KKR, and DigitalBridge, all of which have flagged data center capacity as a 2025 deployment priority in recent LP letters.

Operators should track GIP's debt refinancing within 90 days of close, likely targeting a $4-to-$5 billion term loan to replace Aligned's existing facilities. Watch for power capacity announcements in Ohio and Indiana, where Aligned has filed preliminary interconnection requests totaling 340 megawatts. Northern Virginia lease rate trends will signal whether GIP pushes pricing above the current $225-per-kilowatt threshold.

BlackRock absorbed GIP into its alternatives platform in a $12.5 billion transaction that closed in October 2024, giving the asset manager direct exposure to infrastructure deals previously siloed in separate partnerships. Aligned's contracted revenue and utility relationships offer exactly the downside-protected yield profile BlackRock has telegraphed to institutional clients. The next earnings call is April 15.