Global investment firm Blackstone, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), has agreed to acquire the Asia-Pacific region data center platform AirTrunk from Macquarie Asset Management and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. According to the official release, the deal values AirTrunk at over AUD 24 billion, marking Blackstone's largest investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
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AirTrunk's Market Position
Blackstone noted that AirTrunk is the largest data center platform in the Asia-Pacific region, operating across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. AirTrunk has more than 800 megawatts (MW) of capacity committed to customers and owns land that can support over 1 gigawatt (GW) of future growth across the region.
Significance for Blackstone
Blackstone said: "AirTrunk is another vital step as Blackstone seeks to be the leading digital infrastructure investor in the world across the ecosystem, including data centers, power, and related services."
Blackstone Real Estate added: "Digital infrastructure is experiencing unprecedented demand driven by the AI revolution as well as the broader digitisation of the economy. Prior to AirTrunk, Blackstone's portfolio included USD 55 billion in data centers, including facilities under construction, along with over USD 70 billion in prospective pipeline development."
"This transaction highlights the strength of the AirTrunk platform in a high-performing sector as we capture the next wave of growth from cloud services and AI and support the energy transition in Asia-Pacific. We look forward to working with Blackstone and CPP Investments and benefiting from their scale capital, sector expertise, and valuable network across various local markets, which will help support the continued expansion of AirTrunk," AirTrunk added.
Industry Trends and Future Outlook
Blackstone said this deal is part of a broader trend, with an expected USD 2 trillion in global capital expenditures on data centers over the next five years. It is capitalising on this movement as a leading global investor in data centers.
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Blackstone has previously invested in data center companies such as QTS, Coreweave, and Digital Realty and is also focusing on energy needs through investments in companies like Invenergy, the largest independent renewables developer in the United States.
The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
