(Sept 4): Blackstone Inc has agreed to acquire AirTrunk in a deal valuing the Australian data centre operator at A$24 billion (US$16.1 billion or RM70.02 billion), including debt and capital expenditure for committed projects.

The New York-based alternative asset manager, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is buying AirTrunk from Macquarie Group Ltd and PSP Investments, according to a statement on Wednesday. The transaction is pending regulatory approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

The acquisition is Blackstone’s biggest-ever investment in the Asia-Pacific region, outweighing its A$8.9 billion takeover of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd in 2022. It’s also one of the biggest in digital infrastructure deals globally this year.

“AirTrunk is another vital step as Blackstone seeks to be the leading digital infrastructure investor in the world,” Blackstone president and chief operating officer Jon Gray said in the statement.

Assets such as data centres, mobile phone towers and fibre networks have become popular targets for investors, given their stable returns and strong growth prospects as humanity becomes increasingly reliant upon technology.

Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Blackstone was nearing a deal to buy AirTrunk for more than A$20 billion. The firm, which has been in debt-financing talks with banks, emerged as the buyer after competing with a consortium that included DigitalBridge Group Inc, Global Infrastructure Partners, IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Silver Lake Management, according to people familiar with the matter.

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 Inc’s special situations division.