Arabic version: وول ستريت توسّع عروض الاستثمار في مراكز البيانات
According to Cnbc, alternative investment firms are bringing data center exposure into public and private vehicles, presenting AI infrastructure as a real estate allocation that could diversify portfolios. Blackstone launched the Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, or BXDC, a NYSE-traded REIT focused on stabilized data centers in mature markets including Northern Virginia and Dallas.
Blackstone sold 87.5 million BXDC shares at $20 each in its mid-May debut, but the shares closed below $17 on Thursday, down roughly 16% since launch. BXDC had not yet deployed capital into investments. Blue Owl, which says it owns more than 130 data centers across 32 global markets and over $18 billion in assets, has reportedly considered a public REIT valued as high as $6.5 billion. Brookfield listed data center services provider Csquare on the NYSE in July; its shares have declined close to 16% since debuting.
The investment case is being tested by political and project risks. Gallup polling found 70% of Americans oppose a data center being built in their area. New York passed a moratorium on new hyperscale data center approvals in July, while Texas followed in August. Oracle sent a force majeure notice connected to Project Jupiter in New Mexico, citing regulatory hurdles and local opposition, although it said the project remains on track.
Sabur Mollah, a finance professor at Gettysburg College, said high-quality facilities may provide stable rental income through long-term agreements with large technology companies. He also cited risks including AI-driven overvaluation, development and maintenance costs, tenant concentration, power constraints, technological obsolescence, refinancing risk and construction delays. Retail participation remains limited: roughly 94% of BXDC ownership is institutional, according to market data. Andrew Tarver of InvestCloud cautioned that investors should understand redemption windows, liquidity limits and underlying assets before investing outside publicly traded securities with daily liquidity.
