ACS, BlackRock Line Up €23B Data Center Pact, Report Says

A giant build for digital capacity

Spain’s ACS and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners are poised to agree a data center partnership sized around €23 billion, according to a Reuters report that cites Spanish daily Expansión. The structure under discussion pairs roughly €5 billion of equity with €18 billion of debt, a blend designed to fund multi-site development over several years as hyperscalers race to lock in capacity for artificial intelligence workloads. Neither company has formally confirmed the deal terms.

What the reported pact would do

The alliance, as described, would position GIP to acquire about 50 percent of ACS’s Digital & Energy arm and to co-finance a platform of data centers that can scale in phases. The investment mix, equity plus long-dated debt, is typical for utility-like infrastructure that throws off contracted cash flows once tenants sign up. Expansión’s outline suggests the valuation lands at the high end of ACS’s 2030 target for the business, which helps explain market interest around a near-term announcement.

Why now: AI demand meets power scarcity

Global appetite for compute and storage has surged as model training, inference and content delivery intensify, while grid constraints make site selection harder. Private capital has stepped in to pre-fund capacity, often bundling land, power, interconnects and heat management in a single package for cloud buyers. BlackRock and GIP have been active in this wave; a BlackRock-led group agreed last month to acquire Aligned Data Centers in a transaction valued around 40 billion dollars, underscoring the scale of capital now chasing AI infrastructure.

Strategic logic for both sides

For ACS, a partner with balance-sheet reach and sector know-how can accelerate build-outs, shorten commercialization cycles, and improve procurement for power and equipment. For GIP and BlackRock, a construction specialist with a European footprint lowers delivery risk, especially in regions where permitting, grid connections and water use require tight execution. The reported equity slice aligns incentives, the debt stack improves return on equity, and the split allows each party to play to core strengths.

The European angle

Spain has emerged as a digital-infrastructure hotspot, given available land corridors, expanding renewables, and routes into trans-Atlantic and Mediterranean cables. Recent multi-billion investments from global funds and strategics indicate a cluster effect, which can reduce per-site costs for substations and transmission lines. A large ACS platform, co-owned with GIP, would add another anchor to the Iberian build-out and provide optionality to extend into adjacent markets that offer firm power and favorable permits.

Financing architecture and returns

A €5 billion equity commitment alongside €18 billion of project debt implies leverage consistent with stabilized infrastructure assets. Typical revenue models blend anchor-tenant leases with expansion options and indexed pricing to cover energy and capital costs. Return profiles depend on power contracts, utilization ramps, and capex discipline. If energy is hedged with renewable offtake and cooling is engineered to minimize water, the platform can improve margins while meeting environmental expectations of large tenants.

Execution risks to watch

Three operational items will decide outcomes. First, access to power, since grid interconnects, substation lead times, and transformer availability can gate growth. Second, permitting timelines, which vary by region and can shift with local politics. Third, tenant concentration, because a narrow customer base raises renewal risk and limits pricing flexibility. Financing conditions matter as well; higher spreads would tilt project economics, while delays could push deliveries into tighter supply windows.

Market context and precedent

The ACS, BlackRock near €23 billion data center deal sits within a year that has already delivered record digital-infrastructure transactions. The Aligned acquisition highlighted how capital has moved from single-site builds to multi-gigawatt platforms that promise standardized delivery for AI buyers. Analysts expect continued consolidation, since hyperscalers prefer counterparties that can guarantee power, land and timelines across several countries, not just one campus.

Implications for ACS investors

A platform partnership can crystallize value, reduce capex burden at the parent, and surface a clearer path to contracted cash flows. If the unit’s valuation is set near the top of prior targets, that becomes a reference for future capital raises. The governance terms, board representation, and development rights will be important; they decide how fast the platform can scale and how proceeds recycle into new projects.

What it means for BlackRock and GIP

For BlackRock and GIP, the partnership would extend a strategy of owning long-duration, utility-like digital assets that can index to inflation, while offering growth through expansion phases. A builder-operator relationship with ACS adds local delivery capacity in Spain and, potentially, beyond. Portfolio synergies may include shared procurement for switchgear and cooling systems, as well as pooled power contracting that blends renewables with grid supply to stabilize cost.

The reporting, restated for clarity

The headline premise is straightforward: ACS, BlackRock Line Up €23B Data Center Pact, Report Says, and multiple outlets repeat that ACS and BlackRock’s GIP are close to a partnership that combines roughly €5 billion in equity with €18 billion in debt to fund a data-center build program. The words from Reuters are careful, report says, no formal confirmation from the companies at the time of publication.

For readers tracking house style

Readers should note the descriptive language here includes the essential words that also appear in search-facing elements, such as ACS, BlackRock, near, €23B, and data center deal, presented in natural sentences for clarity. For Tredu readers, the practical takeaway is that this is a platform-scale plan, not a single campus, and the investment envelope reflects that.

Bottom line

The reported alliance would marry ACS’s build capabilities with BlackRock’s GIP and deep capital, targeting a €23 billion data-center program at a time when AI demand and power constraints are reshaping infrastructure. If terms land as outlined and execution holds, the pact could become a cornerstone of Europe’s next wave of digital capacity.