BlackRock-IFM consortium in exclusive talks for Stack's Asia Pacific data centres

A consortium backed by BlackRock and IFM Investors has entered exclusive talks to acquire Stack Infrastructure's Asia Pacific data centre portfolio in a deal that could value the assets at up to US$25 billion, Bloomberg News has reported. The report cites people familiar with the matter.

A consortium backed by BlackRock and IFM Investors has entered into exclusive talks for a potential acquisition of Stack Infrastructure's Asia Pacific data centres, in a deal that could value the portfolio at up to US$25 billion, Bloomberg News reported on 24 Sept, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said the consortium has been granted a period of exclusivity to negotiate the purchase of the data centre assets, which span multiple markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Neither BlackRock, IFM Investors nor Stack Infrastructure have commented on the report.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The deal highlights growing investor appetite for digital infrastructure assets in the region, as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services drives data centre expansion.

Stack Infrastructure is a global data centre developer and operator with a significant presence in Asia Pacific. The portfolio under discussion includes facilities in key markets such as Singapore, Japan and Australia.

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, and IFM Investors, an Australian-based infrastructure fund manager, have been increasing their exposure to data centres globally. The potential acquisition would be one of the largest data centre transactions in the region to date.