Digital Realty Takes $3.5 Billion Virginia Data Centre Stake With 2028 Stabilization Ahead
Digital Realty is buying stakes in three Northern Virginia data centres from Blackstone for $3.5 billion, adding leased hyperscale capacity while two sites are not expected to stabilize until 2027 and the third until 2028.
Digital Realty Adds Virginia Capacity Through Blackstone Deal
Digital Realty is taking a larger position in Northern Virginia data centres through a $3.5 billion transaction with Blackstone.
The consideration is split between $1.2 billion of cash and $2.3 billion of stock, with the three-center portfolio valued at $7.8 billion.
CNBC reported that Digital Realty is buying an 80% Blackstone stake in a pair of Manassas facilities, each listed as 96-megawatt assets, plus a 50% stake in a 96-megawatt Sterling facility.
The transaction was expected to close on Tuesday.
Stabilization Targets Extend To 2028
The assets still have staged operating milestones ahead.
CNBC reported that two of the data centres carry a first-half 2027 stabilization target, while the Sterling asset is expected to reach that point in the first half of 2028.
Digital Realty chief investment officer Greg Wright said the transaction increases the company’s ownership in fully leased hyperscale assets and extends its growth pipeline.
CNBC reported that Digital Realty shares were down 5.4% before the market opened, while the stock remained up 23% for the year to date.
Virginia Demand Carries A Financing Constraint
The transaction adds capacity in a market that Digital Realty is trying to expand in and that the article identifies as the world’s largest data centre market.
A February JLL report said Texas was close to challenging Virginia’s lead in data centres.
JLL also said 92% of data centre capacity under construction in North America is already pre-committed, a figure that points to limited vacancy through 2030.
The same article reported that the demand backdrop includes Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google, which have committed close to $700 billion in capex this year for AI infrastructure buildout.
Private Capital Remains Part Of The Buildout
The deal shows how data centre operators are using large capital transactions to keep capacity pipelines moving as hyperscale demand absorbs available supply.
The article also said big technology companies are increasingly relying on private equity, private credit and debt, with data centre financing deals consistently above $10 billion last year, according to The public record still lacks tenant names for the three assets, customer-level contract terms, power-procurement details or the final operating metrics that will confirm stabilization at the Manassas and Sterling data centres.
