According to a report by the Spanish newspaper Expansion, ACS is close to entering a partnership valuing the business at approximately €23 billion (US$26.8 billion).

Under the potential agreement, GIP would acquire a 50% stake in ACS’s newly-formed division, known as “Digital & Energy”.

The breakdown of the deal reportedly comprises around €5 billion in equity and €18 billion in debt financing. ACS had earlier set a target valuation for the data-centre business at between €3-5 billion by 2030, meaning the proposed deal far exceeds those earlier expectations.

Neither ACS nor BlackRock (nor GIP) have confirmed the details publicly at this stage. When approached, ACS declined to comment and GIP did not respond immediately to enquiries.

The move comes amid a surge of investor interest in digital infrastructure, particularly data centres, driven by rising demand for AI workloads and the energy and land constraints that accompany rapid growth in the sector. The deal marks a significant bet on the scale and pace of expansion required in data-centre capacity.

For ACS, the deal would be transformative. The Digital & Energy unit is already active across several geographies and is expected to play an increasing role in the company’s growth strategy. The injection of both equity and debt capital from a major partner such as GIP would enable ACS to expedite its development pipeline and expand capacity at a faster rate than would likely be possible on its own.

From the investor’s perspective, GIP gains exposure to the fast-growing digital infrastructure sector and benefits from ACS’s existing development and construction expertise.

The proposed joint structure allows GIP and ACS to share both the upside and operational risks associated with large-scale data centre roll-outs. Analysts say that such infrastructure businesses are increasingly viewed as “utility-like” in nature, given the ongoing demand and high barriers to entry.

Nevertheless, challenges remain. Building large data centre capacity involves not only significant capital but also navigating planning, permitting, power-supply, cooling and connectivity constraints in multiple jurisdictions.

Execution and cost-control will be critical to realising the projected value. Observers also note that while the headline valuation is high, ultimate success will hinge on achieving scale, securing tenants and managing the debt burden effectively.

ACS is expected to provide further details of its strategy and the deal at an upcoming investor day later this week, where it may outline geography, capacity targets and timelines for the partnership.

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