• Has reviewed representative opportunities in Northern Virginia, Ohio, Phoenix, Maryland, and Austin
• Assume average acquisition price of USD 15m per MW
• “Clearly defined buy box” shows size, return, lease-type expectations

Blackstone has reviewed about USD 25bn of indicative near-term opportunities to buy stabilized data centers in major US markets for its planned Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, underscoring how aggressively the firm expects to pursue a sector it says could swell into a USD 1 trillion addressable market by 2030.

In a prospectus for the new vehicle, Blackstone said the strategy will focus on newly built, income-generating data centers leased to investment-grade hyperscale tenants on long-term contracts, with the initial emphasis on top US markets such as Northern Virginia, Ohio, Phoenix, Maryland and Austin.

Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust is offering 87.5 million shares in its initial public offering at an expected price of USD 20 apiece, implying gross proceeds of about USD 1.75bn before underwriting discounts and expenses.

The company said it sees a powerful backdrop of AI adoption, cloud growth and broader digitalization driving demand, while power shortages, supply-chain bottlenecks, land scarcity, zoning restrictions and labor shortages continue to choke new construction.

Blackstone said the total market value of stabilized US data center assets rose to USD 275bn in 2025 from USD 175bn in 2023 and is expected to more than triple to USD 1 trillion by 2030. The filing says US vacancy stood at 1.3% at the end of 2025, with key hubs such as Northern Virginia below 1%, and that rents have more than doubled in the past four years.

The trust’s “clearly defined buy box” targets newly constructed data center assets priced from USD 250m to more than USD 1.5bn, or roughly 20 MW to 100 MW per building, in primarily Tier 1 markets. It plans to pursue top investment-grade hyperscalers as tenants, weighted average lease terms of 10-to-20 years, annual rent escalators of 2% to 3%, and mostly triple-net lease structures.

The filing says the size assumptions imply an average acquisition cost of USD 15m per MW and an initial gross asset yield target of 5.75% to 7% or higher.

On financing, Blackstone said it intends over the long term to target consolidated indebtedness equal to about 40% of enterprise value and, before becoming investment grade, to rely mainly on credit facilities and non-recourse debt secured by individual properties or pools of properties. It said it is targeting an investment-grade rating over time so it can issue unsecured debt.

The management fee structure is tiered by market capitalization: 1% annually up to USD 25bn, 0.9% on the next USD 25bn, 0.8% on the next USD 25bn and 0.7% above USD 75bn.

Blackstone also would receive an incentive fee of 0.25% annually on market capitalization in quarters when total shareholder return reaches at least 8% and the stock trades above its IPO price. Both fees are waived for the first six months after the offering closes.

The manager has invested in data center and digital infrastructure opportunities worth about USD 225bn since 2018, including more than USD 150bn in data center assets, and pointed to holdings and deals including QTS Data Centers, AirTrunk and a USD 7bn joint venture with Digital Realty.

Ontario made an investment into Rowan in 2024. And Blackstone recently finalized a deal to acquire a 49% stake in Rowan at a USD 3.8b enterprise value, excluding debt.