The largest takeover of a data-centre company on record has closed. AIP, MGX and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners said on July 21 that they had completed the purchase of 100% of the equity in Aligned Data Centers from private infrastructure funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management, at an enterprise value of roughly $40 billion.
Five billion on top
The genuinely new element is the money that follows: the buyers committed an additional $5 billion to fund Aligned's continued global expansion. That commitment does not appear anywhere in the original October 2025 announcement, and it lands as the platform's footprint has already grown from 50 campuses and 5 GW at signing to 51 campuses and more than 6.4 GW operational and planned across the US and South America.
How big, in context
At about $40 billion, the deal is more than twice the size of the previous record — the $16.6 billion Blackstone-led acquisition of AirTrunk in 2024. Closing had been guided for the first half of 2026, so it landed modestly late. Andrew Schaap, chief executive since 2017, continues to lead the Texas-headquartered company, founded in 2013.
The consortium behind it
AIP was formed in September 2024 by BlackRock, GIP, MGX, Microsoft and Nvidia, with Nvidia and xAI formalised in March 2025 and the Kuwait Investment Authority and Temasek since joining. The partnership targets $30 billion of equity and up to $100 billion including debt. MGX's own Fund I closed at $49 billion, above its $45 billion target.
The thesis, stated plainly
BlackRock chairman and AIP chairman Larry Fink put the rationale in one line at announcement: AIP is "positioned to meet the growing demand for infrastructure required as AI continues to reshape the global economy."