Igneo Infrastructure Partners and Japan's Orix are among those advancing to the next bidding round for Macquarie Capital's majority stake in a Dutch hyperscale data center. Canada's Northleaf Capital has also progressed in the process, with the stake valued at about €900 million ($1 billion). Final offers are expected next month.
Infrastructure has become a central focus for investors aiming to capitalize on the AI boom, sparking intense competition among the world's largest alternative asset managers to acquire expertise in building and operating complex assets like data centers.
The Amsterdam 1 Data Center in the Netherlands emerged from a 2022 partnership between Macquarie Asset Management and NTT, as the Japanese company sought a partner for data center development in Europe and North America. Macquarie Capital holds a 75% stake, with NTT owning the remaining 25%. The facility is located in Amsterdam's Schiphol-Rijk district.
According to people familiar with the matter, Igneo Infrastructure Partners, Orix, and Canada's Northleaf Capital have advanced in the bidding for Macquarie's majority stake. Suitors are set to submit final offers next month, though deliberations continue and bidders could still withdraw, or Macquarie might retain the asset longer. Representatives for Macquarie, Igneo, Northleaf, and Orix declined to comment.
This development follows Macquarie Group's October agreement to sell Aligned Data Centers for $40 billion to a consortium led by BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners. Surging AI demand is driving investments in data centers worldwide.
