Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) chief Ben Way said the firm’s $40 billion sale of Aligned Data Centers should not be seen as a signal that the AI or data centre boom has peaked, insisting the world remains “only at the beginning” of the digital transformation era.
Aligned, which grew into one of the largest global data centre operators under Macquarie’s ownership, was sold to investors including BlackRock, Microsoft, and Nvidia in what became Australia’s biggest-ever private equity exit. The transaction valued Aligned’s operations and planned capacity at about 5 gigawatts.
“It’s not that we don’t believe in the thematic,” Way told Reuters. “There’s a long way to go because the world has a long way to digitalise. We’re at the precipice of AI endeavour, not the end.”
Tech giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and CoreWeave are expected to invest roughly $400 billion in AI infrastructure this year alone, according to Morgan Stanley. That continued demand, Way said, shows the AI sector’s strength despite speculation of overheating.
Macquarie will remain active in data infrastructure, with holdings in Bohao Internet Data Service, Hanam Data Centre, Netrality Data Centers, and VIRTUS, spanning four continents. It also plans to invest $5 billion in Applied Digital to back new high-performance computing facilities.
Macquarie’s stock rose 5.13% to A$229 on Thursday — its highest level in months — boosted by optimism around its AI-linked investments.
