Blackstone Eyes $2 Billion IPO For Data Center Acquisition Firm

Blackstone Inc. is considering an initial public offering that could raise $2 billion for an acquisition company that will snap up data centers, according to people familiar with the matter.

The alternative investment giant's offering is being led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and could begin formal marketing as soon as this month, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley are among the banks leading the deal, one of the people said.

The firm has sounded out investors for a novel vehicle which would give shareholders a chance to bet on the artificial intelligence boom and filed paperwork confidentially with US regulators earlier this year, the people said.

Blackstone had approached sovereign wealth funds and other institutions for the first checks, aiming to eventually raise tens of billions of dollars from a broader group of investors, Bloomberg previously reported.

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No final decisions have been made, and the timing and structure of the deal are subject to change, the people cautioned.

Spokespeople for Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

The new vehicle will encapsulate two of the $1.3 trillion alternative asset manager's biggest initiatives — its bid to become the world's biggest investor in AI infrastructure and its push beyond mainstay pensions and endowments to reach everyday investors. Blackstone has invested tens of billions of dollars into data centers and the infrastructure that powers them.

It also thrusts the firm into the center of a debate on the staying power of the data-center building boom and the consequences of exposing individuals to the red-hot sector. Some investors worry that technology could move on, rendering obsolete the colossal AI training facilities far from major metropolitan areas.

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