Recently, there has been significant news in the industry that Global Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of the world's largest asset management company BlackRock, is in deep negotiations with Aligned Data Centers regarding a potential acquisition deal worth approximately $40 billion. This move highlights the strong interest of large investment institutions in the data center industry.

Aligned Data Centers, as a newcomer in the data center field, has completed $12 billion in equity and debt financing earlier this year, showcasing strong development momentum. The company has set ambitious expansion plans, aiming to increase data center capacity to 5 GW. Currently, Aligned has approximately 600 MW of operational capacity, with an additional 700 MW of projects under construction. Notably, the total number of data center projects currently managed or developed by the company has reached 78, covering a wide range.

Industry experts estimate that, based on the industry average price standard of $210 per kilowatt per month, Aligned's annual revenue could be close to $1.6 billion. If ongoing projects are taken into account, this figure is expected to rise to $3.4 billion. This revenue scale is comparable to other players in the industry. For example, peer company CoreWeave recently disclosed that its projected revenue for 2024 is $1.91 billion, with a current operational capacity of 470 MW.

This potential massive deal reflects the thriving prospects of the data center industry. With the rapid advancements in technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data, the demand for high-performance, large-capacity data centers continues to rise. Major investment institutions are increasingly focusing on this field, hoping to achieve long-term stable returns through strategic acquisitions.

However, acquisitions of this scale also face numerous challenges. In addition to the huge capital requirements, factors such as regulatory scrutiny, technological integration, and long-term operations must also be considered. In any case, the negotiations between BlackRock's subsidiary and Aligned will undoubtedly become the focus of industry attention, and the final outcome may have a far-reaching impact on the entire data center market landscape.

With the continuous development of the digital economy, the importance of data centers as key infrastructure is becoming increasingly prominent. This potential large-scale acquisition also reflects investors' confidence in the long-term growth potential of the industry. In the future, we may see more capital flowing into this field, driving further innovation in data center technology and service capabilities.