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MGX and BlackRock buy Aligned Data Centers in record deal

MGX and BlackRock buy Aligned Data Centers in record deal

Money Moves

A roughly $40 billion acquisition, the largest data-center deal on record, moves a major US and Latin American computing platform to investors focused on financing AI.

July 23rd, 2026: Deal closes; $5 billion pledged for expansion

Overview

Updated Jul 23

The biggest data-center deal ever recorded just closed. An investor group led by Abu Dhabi's MGX and BlackRock paid about $40 billion for Aligned Data Centers, a company that builds the buildings where artificial intelligence runs.

The buyers then pledged another $5 billion to expand it. The deal hands a major US and Latin American computing platform to investors whose stated purpose is financing AI. It shows how much money is now chasing the power and real estate that AI needs.

Why it matters

The AI tools people use every day run in physical buildings, and the world's largest investors are now buying that backbone at record prices.

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Key Indicators

$40B
Deal value
The largest acquisition of a data-center company on record.
$5B
Expansion pledge
Extra growth capital committed after the deal closed.
6.4 GW
Aligned capacity
Operational and planned power across the platform.
51
Data-center campuses
Sites across the Americas.
$100B
AIP target
Potential total firepower, including debt.

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People Involved

Andrew Schaap
Andrew Schaap
Chief Executive Officer, Aligned Data Centers
Staying on as CEO after the sale
 Adebayo "Bayo" Ogunlesi
Adebayo "Bayo" Ogunlesi
Chairman and CEO, Global Infrastructure Partners
Leading BlackRock's push into AI infrastructure
 Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Chairman of MGX; UAE national security adviser
Steering Abu Dhabi's state AI investments

Organizations Involved

AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP)
AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP)
Investor consortium
Buyer; Aligned is its first deal

An investor group formed to finance AI data centers and the power to run them.
MGX
MGX
Sovereign-backed investment fund
Co-lead buyer

An Abu Dhabi state-backed fund created to invest in artificial intelligence.
BlackRock / Global Infrastructure Partners
BlackRock / Global Infrastructure Partners
Asset manager
Co-lead buyer; equity provider

The world's largest asset manager, whose infrastructure arm co-led the deal.
Aligned Data Centers
Aligned Data Centers
Data-center operator
Acquired platform

A Texas-based operator of data centers for cloud and AI customers across the Americas.
Macquarie Asset Management
Macquarie Asset Management
Asset manager (seller)
Sold its stake in Aligned

The Australian asset manager whose infrastructure funds sold Aligned to the consortium.

Timeline

September 2024 July 2026

4 events Latest: July 23rd, 2026 · 2 months ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Deal closes; $5 billion pledged for expansion

    Latest Closing

    The group completes the purchase and commits an extra $5 billion to expand Aligned. Andrew Schaap and his team stay in charge.

  2. $40 billion Aligned deal announced

    Deal

    The consortium agrees to buy 100% of Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie's funds. The price makes it the largest data-center acquisition on record.

  3. Nvidia and xAI join the partnership

    Expansion

    Chipmaker Nvidia and Elon Musk's xAI join the AI Infrastructure Partnership, adding both a hardware supplier and a large computing customer.

  4. AI Infrastructure Partnership launches

    Formation

    BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Microsoft, and MGX create a group to finance AI data centers and power. It targets $30 billion in equity and up to $100 billion including debt.

Scenarios

1

Consortium announces its next big AI infrastructure deal

Likely Resolves by Jul 23, 2027

Discussed by: Bloomberg, DataCenterDynamics

The Aligned purchase is AIP's first deal, with $30 billion in equity to deploy. Bull-case coverage expects the group to keep buying, chasing power sites and data-center platforms while AI demand runs hot. A second large deal would confirm the capital wave has momentum.

2

Aligned's planned capacity crosses 8 gigawatts

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: DataCenterDynamics, Aligned Data Centers

The buyers pledged $5 billion to grow Aligned beyond its current 6.4 gigawatts of operational and planned power. If that money moves quickly into new campuses, reported capacity should climb past 8 gigawatts. A stall would signal the build-out is harder or slower than the capital suggests.

3

US scrutiny of Gulf ownership of AI data centers surfaces

Uncertain Resolves by Jul 23, 2027

Discussed by: National-security analysts, Reuters

Abu Dhabi state money now owns part of a large US computing platform. Some analysts flag the risk that regulators revisit foreign control of AI infrastructure, especially where advanced chips and data live. A formal review or new condition would test how open Washington stays to Gulf capital in AI.

4

A consortium member pulls back on data-center spending

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Wall Street analysts covering AI capital spending

Some investors warn that AI data-center building could outrun real demand, echoing past infrastructure gluts. If a major member cuts or delays planned capacity spending, it would suggest the capital wave is cresting rather than building. Steady spending would suggest the opposite.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1998-2001

Fiber-optic telecom overbuild (1998-2001)

Companies like Global Crossing and WorldCom raised tens of billions to lay fiber-optic cable for internet traffic. Supply raced past demand. Global Crossing filed for bankruptcy in 2002, and much of the fiber sat unused as 'dark fiber.'

Then

A glut of capacity collapsed prices and wiped out many early investors.

Now

That cheap fiber later powered the broadband internet, but the first wave of backers lost their money.

Why this matters now

It shows the risk when capital races ahead of real demand for a new technology's physical backbone.

2009

Abu Dhabi's ATIC backs GlobalFoundries (2009)

Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Company funded the spin-off of AMD's chip factories into GlobalFoundries. The emirate bet its wealth on owning strategic semiconductor manufacturing.

Then

The move created a major US-based contract chipmaker.

Now

Gulf sovereign wealth became a lasting owner of strategic US technology assets.

Why this matters now

MGX extends that pattern from the chips themselves to the data centers those chips run in.

September 2024

Blackstone buys AirTrunk (2024)

Blackstone and its partners paid about $16.6 billion for AirTrunk, an Asia-Pacific data-center operator. It was the largest data-center deal on record at the time and marked Wall Street treating these sites as core infrastructure.

Then

The deal set the benchmark price for a large data-center platform.

Now

It pulled more institutional capital into data centers as a distinct asset class.

Why this matters now

Aligned's roughly $40 billion price more than doubles that record in under two years, showing how fast valuations are climbing.

Sources

(7)
+1
Business Wire The National Bloomberg DataCenterDynamics CNBC Global Infrastructure Partners Microsoft