BlackRock-led consortium enters advanced negotiations to acquire Stack Infrastructure's global data center portfolio for $25 billion.

A consortium backed by BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, and Australian infrastructure investor IFM is in exclusive talks to acquire Stack Infrastructure's data center operations in the Asia-Pacific region, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The deal is expected to be worth around $25 billion. The investor group includes the BlackRock-backed Artificial Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) and IFM. According to people familiar with the matter, the group is preparing to conduct due diligence on Stack's assets and hopes to reach an agreement with Blue Owl Capital, Stack's owner.

However, the deal has not been finalized as discussions remain ongoing. Reuters reported that it could not independently verify Bloomberg's report.

Stack operates data centers across the Asia-Pacific region, including facilities in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. The transaction comes as data centers in Asia grow increasingly valuable due to rising demand for computing infrastructure. Major technology companies have been investing heavily in data center capacity to handle expanding data and computing workloads.

Blue Owl has been exploring options for selling Stack's Asia operations at a valuation exceeding $30 billion. By June, IFM and AIP had emerged among the potential bidders for the portfolio. The exact valuation remains unclear, with analysts suggesting a price between $20 billion and $25 billion.

For Blue Owl, the sale would provide an opportunity to monetize part of its Stack investment. Buyers would gain access to an established data center portfolio across major Asian and Pacific markets.

AIP, an investment firm focused on infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence, was launched in 2024 with the goal of investing more than $30 billion in AI-related infrastructure and data centers.

Meta Platforms and BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, have partnered to develop and operate a data center campus in El Paso, Texas, valued at roughly $14 billion.

Crusoe, a data center developer, raised $3.9 billion at a $30.9 billion valuation to expand AI data centers in the United States.

In August, Skanska, a Swedish construction company, signed a contract worth $1.19 billion to build four new data centers in the southeastern United States. Companies like Nvidia and Meta are similarly investing in data center expansion.