AI boom set to fuel data centre deals in Asia this year
private equity investors and asset managers are readying for billions of dollars worth of M&A and investments linked to data centres in Asia Pacific, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom fuels demand for digital infrastructure.
The intense pace of deals in the world's most populous region comes as countries and companies respond to booming demand for AI, calling for more data capacity, industry executives said.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitIIT DelhiCertificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisitMITMIT Technology Leadership and InnovationVisit Asia Pacific, including Japan, has led dealmaking activities in the global data centre market this year, with M&A value totalling $840.47 million, more than half of the global amount, LSEG data showed.
In 2023, the region's data centre deals hit a record high of $3.45 billion, according to LSEG. That tally is set to be surpassed this year with at least a couple of large transactions in the pipeline.
A number of financial sponsors, including global investment powerhouse Blackstone Inc, are looking to acquire AirTrunk, which owns 11 hyperscale data centres in Australia and the rest of the region, sources close to the transaction said.
AirTrunk owners, Macquarie Group and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), are aiming to value the business at up to A$15 billion ($9.8 billion), sources said, in what could be Asia's largest data centre
