BlackRock and IFM Investors Discuss $25B Data Center Deal
The private equity firms are pursuing a multi-billion dollar acquisition to scale their infrastructure holdings.
Updated on Sept. 24, 2026 in Data Centers
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BlackRock and IFM Investors have entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a data center portfolio valued at $25 billion. The deal follows a surge in infrastructure investment aimed at meeting the massive energy and capacity requirements of modern technology firms.
Why it matters
Tech companies are increasingly utilizing off-balance-sheet solutions to manage the substantial capital expenditures required for data center expansion. This shift has turned asset managers into key landlords for major hyperscalers, accelerating the development of large-scale, energy-intensive compute facilities.
The potential $25 billion acquisition follows BlackRock’s $40 billion purchase of Aligned Data Centers in July 2026, a portfolio comprising 51 campuses with 6.4 gigawatts of total capacity and $5 billion in growth capital.
The players
BlackRock
An asset management firm with a growing portfolio of data center infrastructure and strategic joint ventures.
IFM Investors
A Melbourne-based investment manager that oversees approximately A$230 billion in global assets.
Meta
A technology company developing a 1 gigawatt data center capacity project in El Paso.
ACS
A Spain-based construction and infrastructure company involved in a $27 billion joint venture with BlackRock.
The details
Technology firms lease data center capacity from private investors to avoid the upfront costs of constructing their own infrastructure. These large asset managers facilitate this through joint ventures, such as BlackRock’s $14 billion partnership with Meta and its $27 billion collaboration with ACS, which is based in Spain. IFM Investors, a Melbourne-based firm managing A$230 billion in assets, operates in this sector following its 2025 acquisition of the Switzerland-based Green Group.
Timeline
July 2025: IFM Investors acquired Green Group.
July 2026: BlackRock closed the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers.
July 2026: BlackRock announced a $14 billion joint venture with Meta.
2028: The Meta data center in El Paso is expected to come online.
The Tech Race
This deal follows the trend of large-scale infrastructure financing that underpins Meta's current 1 gigawatt data center expansion program. It sits alongside recent massive commitments, such as the $27 billion BlackRock-ACS joint venture, as investors fight for long-term control of compute capacity.
This acquisition signals that high-capacity compute facilities will continue to move toward an off-balance-sheet model owned by institutional investors. While consumers do not interact with these firms directly, the shift dictates the pace at which new data-hungry services can be deployed.
The takeaway
The move demonstrates that massive infrastructure ownership is shifting toward institutional asset managers to hedge the high capital costs of modern AI compute. Watch for the completion of the Meta facility in El Paso by 2028 to see if these investment volumes translate into anticipated capacity gains.
Further reading
For broader trends in infrastructure investment, explore Data Centers.
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