Synergy's Data Center M&A Hits Record $73 Billion in 2024
Deal News | Jan 29, 2025 | EIN
Data center mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reached a record $73 billion in 2024 according to Synergy Research Group's updated analysis. This marked an increase from the earlier reported $57 billion, driven by several significant deals, including the nearly $16 billion Blackstone-led acquisition of AirTrunk and Vantage Data Centers equity investments totaling $9.2 billion. 2023 saw a lull in activity with $26 billion, down from 2022's $52 billion due to mega-deals like CyrusOne and Switch acquisitions. The report highlights the continued dominance of private equity, accounting for 80-90% of the value of deals closed since 2021. Looking ahead, 2025 has already seen over $7 billion in completed deals, with $15 billion more to close. Additionally, OpenAI's Stargate Project plans a $500 billion investment into AI infrastructure, which includes $100 billion of immediate allocations, with equity stakeholders like SoftBank and Oracle.
Sectors
- Data Centers
- Private Equity
- AI Infrastructure
Geography
- Global – The article describes a global trend in data center mergers and acquisitions, with implications for various international markets.
Industry
- Data Centers – The article discusses mergers and acquisitions within the data center sector, highlighting record-breaking deals for 2024.
- Private Equity – An emphasis is placed on the significant role of private equity in the volume of M&A activity within the data center industry.
- AI Infrastructure – The article mentions OpenAI's investment into AI infrastructure, highlighting the growing intersection of data centers and artificial intelligence.
Financials
- $73 billion – The total value of data center M&A deals closed in 2024.
- $57 billion – Initial reported value of 2024 data center M&A deals before the update.
- $16 billion – The value of the Blackstone-led acquisition of AirTrunk, marking the biggest deal closed in 2024.
- $9.2 billion – The combined value of separate equity investments in Vantage Data Centers in 2024.
- $3.1 billion – Equity investment in Vantage Data Centers' EMEA operations.
- $52 billion – Total value of data center M&A deals in 2022.
- $26 billion – Total value of data center M&A deals in 2023.
- $7 billion – Value of deals closed in early 2025.
- $15 billion – Value of deals agreed in 2025 but not yet closed.
- $500 billion – Planned investment amount by OpenAI's Stargate Project into AI infrastructure over four years.
- $100 billion – Immediate allocation by OpenAI's Stargate Project into AI infrastructure.
Participants
| Name | Role | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synergy Research Group | Source | Company | A research firm that provided the report and data analysis for the article on data center M&A activities. |
| Blackstone | Acquirer | Company | A leading private equity firm that participated in the acquisition of AirTrunk. |
| AirTrunk | Target | Company | A data center company acquired by Blackstone in a record-breaking deal. |
| Vantage Data Centers | Target | Company | Received significant equity investments during the record-breaking year for data center M&A. |
| EdgeConneX | Investment Target | Company | Recipient of large equity investments, contributing to the M&A surge. |
| DataBank | Investment Target | Company | Received large equity investments, contributing to the M&A surge. |
| OpenAI | Investor | Company | A leading AI research company which announced The Stargate Project, focusing on AI infrastructure. |
| SoftBank | Investor | Company | Equity investor in OpenAI's Stargate Project. |
| Oracle | Investor | Company | Equity investor in OpenAI's Stargate Project. |
| MGX | Investor | Company | Equity investor based in Abu Dhabi participating in OpenAI's Stargate Project. |
| CyrusOne | Target | Company | Acquired in one of the mega deals that peaked the 2022 data center M&A activity. |
| Switch | Target | Company | Acquired in one of the mega deals that peaked the 2022 data center M&A activity. |