BlackRock Finances Meta's $12B Texas Data Center, Acquires Aligned for $40B

BlackRock is financing Meta's planned $12 billion（約1.9兆円） data center campus in El Paso, Texas, a project designed to deliver nearly 1 gigawatt of capacity. The financing is structured as an 80/20 joint venture, with BlackRock holding the controlling stake and Meta retaining 20%. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are anchoring the bond purchase, with plans to syndicate the remaining debt to outside investors.

Simultaneously, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, and MGX have closed a $40 billion（約6.4兆円） acquisition of Aligned Data Centers. The deal brings more than 6.4 gigawatts of operational and planned capacity across 51 campuses into the consortium's portfolio. Aligned's geographic footprint spans several leading US data center markets, and includes a planned Pennsylvania project that Meta has already agreed to lease. The Aligned acquisition signals a broader trend: capital is increasingly flowing toward large, scalable platforms rather than single-project developments.

Both transactions reflect a financing model shift in the hyperscale data center market. The El Paso project and the earlier Meta-Blue Owl Louisiana joint venture—which raised $27 billion（約4.3兆円） in debt, with BlackRock acquiring $3 billion（約4800億円） of those bonds—demonstrate how technology companies and asset managers are now structuring deals. Joint ventures and debt syndication allow hyperscalers to secure critical power and capacity while limiting direct capital exposure, while asset managers gain access to long-term infrastructure yields. BlackRock's $57 billion（約9.1兆円） in data center transactions this week alone underscores the firm's aggressive positioning in the sector. The company now manages a platform with over $200 billion（約32兆円） in data center-related assets, reflecting its rapid consolidation of the market.

Looking ahead, BlackRock plans to invest another $5 billion（約8000億円） to accelerate Aligned's expansion, likely targeting power-rich and underserved US markets. Industry dealmakers expect more large syndications and joint ventures as institutional and sovereign wealth funds compete for positions in what CBRE has identified as one of commercial real estate's fastest-growing asset classes. Hyperscale capacity pipelines reached 14 gigawatts in 2025, representing 21% year-over-year growth, and power access and land availability are increasingly the determining factors for where capital will flow next.

BlackRock's dual announcement—the $12 billion（約1.9兆円） Meta financing and $40 billion（約6.4兆円） Aligned acquisition—marks a pivot in how hyperscale data center infrastructure is being built and funded. Rather than technology companies bearing the full capital burden, a new model has emerged where major asset managers act as anchors, taking controlling or majority positions while technology tenants secure capacity through joint ventures and debt syndication. This approach mirrors earlier structures, such as Meta's $27 billion（約4.3兆円） joint venture with Blue Owl in Louisiana, where BlackRock acquired $3 billion（約4800億円） of the bonds. The arrangement offers clear benefits: it lets technology companies like Meta secure critical digital infrastructure without direct capital exposure, while asset managers access stable, long-term yields in one of commercial real estate's fastest-growing segments.

The timing reflects the scale of demand. CBRE's report of a record $48 billion（約7.7兆円） in global data center activity in 2025, combined with hyperscale capacity pipelines reaching 14 GW (a 21% year-over-year increase), shows that generative AI adoption is driving unprecedented infrastructure investment. BlackRock's execution of around $57 billion（約9.1兆円） in data center deals this week alone—including the $40 billion（約6.4兆円） Aligned acquisition—positions the firm as the dominant consolidator in the sector. With over $200 billion（約32兆円） in data center-related assets now under management, BlackRock is betting that the demand for power-intensive AI workloads will sustain long-term capital flows to reliable, scalable platforms rather than individual developments.

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