Blackstone said to be near $17.7 billion deal to acquire AirTrunk

SYDNEY - Blackstone is nearing a deal to acquire Australian data centre operator AirTrunk for A$20 billion (S$17.7 billion) including debt, people familiar with the matter said, in what could be one of the largest digital infrastructure deals in 2024.

Blackstone has emerged as the preferred buyer for AirTrunk after outbidding other rival bidders, the people said. The New York-based alternative asset manager and AirTrunk owners Macquarie Group and PSP Investments are negotiating the final details of a transaction that could be signed as soon as this week, the people said.

Representatives for Blackstone, Macquarie and PSP declined to comment.

Blackstone has been in discussions with banks for debt financing to back its bid for AirTrunk, Bloomberg News reported last week. Blackstone has been competing with a separate consortium that includes IFM Investors, DigitalBridge Group, Global Infrastructure Partners and Silver Lake Management, people familiar with the matter have said.

The Asian cloud services market has been heating up, with KKR agreeing to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Singtel’s regional data centre business in 2023. A year earlier, Blackstone launched its first wholly owned platform related to the sector in Asia.

Macquarie has a long history of investing in digital infrastructure, and is one of the largest active firms in the sector. Ms Ani Satchcroft and Mr Ben Way have helped helm Macquarie Asset Management’s investment in AirTrunk since 2019.

AirTrunk operates data centres in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia, according to its website.

A group led by Macquarie’s infrastructure arm took control of the company in 2020 in a deal that valued it at about A$3 billion, Bloomberg reported at the time. Prior to that, it was owned by investors including Goldman Sachs Group’s special situations division. BLOOMBERG