MGX, BlackRock seal record Texas data center takeover: Abu Dhabi state AI investor MGX and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) agreed to fully acquire Texas-based Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management and its partners in a transaction valuing the company at around USD 40 bn, according to a joint statement, confirming reports from Bloomberg earlier last week. The move, which is said to be the largest global data center buyout yet, is expected to close in 1H 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The transaction marks the first investment under a vehicle launched by MGX, BlackRock, GIP, Microsoft, and Nvidia last year, named the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), to deploy capital into AI infrastructure. The platform aims to mobilize some USD 30 bn in equity, potentially reaching USD 100 bn including debt.

Aligned? Aligned operates 50 data campuses across the US and Latin America, offering over 5 GW of operational and planned capacity to hyperscale and enterprise clients. The company will continue to be led by CEO Andrew Schaap from its Dallas headquarters. It currently has roughly 600 MW of live capacity and 700 MW under construction, according to Bloomberg data provider DC Byte, positioning it to benefit from surging demand for hyperscale computing power.

“To me, this is a perfect marriage of Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem and its commitment to AI, combined with the strength of BlackRock and GIP,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told the Financial Times. The agreement follows Aligned’s USD 12 bn equity and debt raise earlier this year, led by Macquarie-managed funds, and comes as investors worldwide race to claim exposure to the AI infrastructure boom, Bloomberg reports.

Some 20 GW of both cloud and AI capacity a year are expected to come online, about half of which is in the US, MGX CEO Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi told FT.

Plans post-acquisition? Fink said the partnership allows large tech companies to lease purpose-built, high-density data centers rather than build and finance them directly, effectively keeping such infrastructure off their balance sheets and preserving higher valuations. The partnership combines capital, energy expertise, and semiconductor supply chains to address bottlenecks in “land, energy, and materials” needed to support the AI boom, GIP chief Adebayo Ogunlesi said.

REFRESHER- MGX is stepping up its AI investment drive this year: The firm is eyeing up the launch of a USD 25 bn fund for AI infrastructure investments, committing USD 100 bn to the first phase of the Stargate AI infrastructure fund, pledging USD 30-50 bn of initial investments in data centers in France, and backing GIP’s USD 30 bn AI infrastructure fund. It also recently invested in OpenAI as part of its latest secondary share sale, and in San Francisco-based software company Databricks.

More to come? The state AI investor was also reportedly in early talks with AI firm Anthropic when Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was on a tour in the Middle East this month, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The firm is eyeing a USD 170 bn valuation with a USD 5 bn new funding round set to be led by Iconiq Capital, with potential investments from the the Qatar Investment Authority and Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC. This comes shortly after a note to staff from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said he’s looking towards the region for funding despite still holding it in contempt

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