Blackstone Digital Infrastructure raises US$1.75 billion in IPO to buy data centres
The listing is the largest ever IPO of a Reit set up as a so-called blind pool
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[NEW YORK] Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust raised US$1.75 billion in a US initial public offering, as investors’ appetite for artificial intelligence infrastructure shows no sign of easing.
The asset manager’s data-centre acquisition vehicle aims to buy already-built and leased properties benefiting from the AI boom. It sold 87.5 million shares at a fixed price of US$20 per share, according to a statement on Wednesday (May 13).
The real estate investment trust will target newly built data centres valued at between US$250 million and US$1.5 billion and leased to investment-grade hyperscalers, its filings show.
The move encapsulates two of the US$1.3 trillion alternative-asset manager’s biggest initiatives: its bid to become the world’s largest investor in AI infrastructure and its push beyond pensions and endowments to reach individual investors. The offering also builds on Blackstone’s broader push into data centres.
“With an estimated US$1 trillion total addressable stabilised data centre market expected over the next five years, we believe the industry represents a substantial investment opportunity,” the company said in its earlier disclosure.
The listing is the largest ever IPO of a Reit set up as a so-called blind pool, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as the company hasn’t yet acquired any data centre assets.
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Investors in the offering will receive an additional 1 per cent of their purchase in bonus shares, rounded down to the nearest whole share, according to the filings.
An affiliate of Blackstone had indicated an interest in buying as much as US$200 million of shares in the vehicle, less the aggregate purchase price of the bonus shares, the filings show.
Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust will be externally managed by a Blackstone-affiliated entity in return for base and incentive fees, the filing shows. It will have priority over other Blackstone funds for yield-oriented, stabilised, long-duration turn-key data-centre acquisitions sourced by the firm for 24 months after the offering is completed.
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The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Canada and Wells Fargo. The shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol BXDC. BLOOMBERG
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