Key Takeaways
- • Blue Owl Capital is planning to form a data center REIT and take it public, according to Bloomberg, seeded with a Blue Owl portfolio valued at around $6.5 billion.
- • The planned REIT would fund data center acquisitions through an initial public offering and additional share sales, though Blue Owl declined to comment on the launch.
- • Blue Owl manages more than $319 billion in assets under management and has a market value of roughly $18 billion, with shares down nearly 21 percent year to date.
- • The move follows Blackstone's May IPO filing for Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, which targets roughly $1.75 billion from more than 87 million shares priced at $20 each.
Summary
Blue Owl Capital is preparing to enter the data center real estate investment trust market, according to Bloomberg. The alternative asset manager plans to form a data center REIT and take it public, seeded with a Blue Owl portfolio valued at around $6.5 billion. The company would use proceeds from an initial public offering and other share sales to acquire additional data centers for the portfolio. Blue Owl declined to comment on the launch. Its shares rose more than 1 percent after the report surfaced, though the stock is down nearly 21 percent this year and carries an $18 billion market value.
The potential REIT comes as Blue Owl expands its data center footprint. The firm has more than $319 billion in assets under management, including international data center firm Stack Infrastructure, whose operations could reportedly sell at a value of more than $30 billion. Blue Owl also contributed $3 billion in equity to Meta's Hyperion project, a Louisiana data center expected to be operational by 2030 and supply five gigawatts of computational power for AI.
In structuring the vehicle, Blue Owl is following the approach of Blackstone and Brookfield, particularly resembling the blind-pool structure of Blackstone's REIT. Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust filed for an IPO in May, projecting to raise approximately $1.75 billion by issuing more than 87 million shares at $20 each. That offering was intended to fund acquisitions of new construction data centers valued between $250 million and $1.5 billion and leased to hyperscalers.
Blue Owl's broader real estate activity includes its April agreement to acquire Tampa-based health care REIT Sila Realty Trust for $2.4 billion, or $30.38 per share in an all-cash transaction. The deal gave Blue Owl funds 137 properties and three undeveloped parcels across more than 60 markets.
The potential REIT comes as Blue Owl expands its data center footprint. The firm has more than $319 billion in assets under management, including international data center firm Stack Infrastructure, whose operations could reportedly sell at a value of more than $30 billion. Blue Owl also contributed $3 billion in equity to Meta's Hyperion project, a Louisiana data center expected to be operational by 2030 and supply five gigawatts of computational power for AI.
In structuring the vehicle, Blue Owl is following the approach of Blackstone and Brookfield, particularly resembling the blind-pool structure of Blackstone's REIT. Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust filed for an IPO in May, projecting to raise approximately $1.75 billion by issuing more than 87 million shares at $20 each. That offering was intended to fund acquisitions of new construction data centers valued between $250 million and $1.5 billion and leased to hyperscalers.
Blue Owl's broader real estate activity includes its April agreement to acquire Tampa-based health care REIT Sila Realty Trust for $2.4 billion, or $30.38 per share in an all-cash transaction. The deal gave Blue Owl funds 137 properties and three undeveloped parcels across more than 60 markets.
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