en.Wedoany.com Reported - Digital Realty has acquired a mixed 64% stake in three fully leased hyperscale data centers in Northern Virginia from Blackstone for $3.5 billion, with a total IT capacity of 288MW. This move further solidifies the company's presence in the region to address power and real estate pressures driven by growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Northern Virginia remains the world's largest single data center market by installed capacity. According to Synergy Research, the number of global hyperscale data center sites surpassed 1,000 in 2023. The assets involved in this transaction are valued at $7.8 billion, with an initial stabilized capitalization rate exceeding 6.5%, reflecting the high capital requirements of hyperscale facilities.
The core portfolio of this transaction includes three 96MW buildings, all 100% leased to independent investment-grade hyperscale customers. Digital Realty will pay Blackstone $1.2 billion in cash and provide $2.3 billion in stock. The company acquired an 80% interest in two data centers in Manassas and a 50% interest in a Sterling facility from Blackstone, held through the Digital Carver Dulles 9 and Digital Carver Brickyard joint ventures. The acquisition is expected to close this week.
Gartner forecasts that global colocation and interconnection revenue will reach approximately $90 billion to $100 billion by 2027, with growth primarily linked to AI training clusters and cloud service expansion needs. Digital Realty and its peers Equinix and CyrusOne are expanding capacity near major cloud hubs, with over 80% of new demand in top U.S. markets coming from hyperscale customers. CBRE notes that Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud are the primary drivers.
Blackstone's head of digital infrastructure affirmed the early success of the joint venture established with Digital Realty in 2023, stating that demand for digital infrastructure continues to exceed expectations. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that global data center capital expenditure will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11% to 12% through 2027. Operators are competing for land, power, and long-term customer contracts, with Northern Virginia considered irreplaceable due to its dense fiber network and reliable utilities.
Digital Realty's Chief Investment Officer stated that this acquisition represents the next phase of the broader relationship between the two companies, which continue to collaborate on joint ventures not only in Northern Virginia but also in Paris and Frankfurt. Two of the facilities acquired by Digital Realty are expected to stabilize operations in the first half of 2027, with the third expected to stabilize in the first half of 2028. These sites are supported by 15-year leases with a blended AA- credit rating and annual rent escalations of 3.6%. The stabilization timeline of long-term leases directly supports cash flow visibility and debt planning, and such facilities typically meet Uptime Institute Tier standards and ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management System) certification.
Despite controversies over land use, power availability, and community impact in Northern Virginia, the region remains a primary focus for U.S. data center expansion. This transaction enhances Digital Realty's competitive position in balancing organic growth with strategic asset acquisitions, and also reflects the evolution of asset ownership strategies as AI and cloud computing reshape enterprise infrastructure and its economics. The financial scale, location, and tenant commitments indicate that hyperscale capacity in Northern Virginia remains a core priority for operators and investors.
