Blackstone Joins $2 Billion Firmus Equity Round After Debt Deal

Blackstone participated in a $2 billion equity financing for Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus, expanding its financial involvement after leading a separate $10 billion debt facility for the business.

Funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and other Blackstone vehicles joined Coatue, NVIDIA and Jane Street in Firmus’ fully subscribed strategic equity round announced Aug. 7. After the round, Firmus was valued at more than $10.5 billion, with equity funding secured during the preceding year exceeding $3 billion.

Blackstone and affiliated funds previously led a $10 billion debt-financing facility announced Feb. 9. The facility is intended to fund Project Southgate and support Firmus’ expansion of up to 1.6 gigawatts through 2028.

Blackstone participated in both financings, but its ownership percentage in Firmus was not disclosed. Debt financing generally provides contractual interest payments, while equity returns depend on the underlying company generating cash flow and increasing in value.

“We believe AI infrastructure will be a foundational driver of global growth and it is among our highest conviction investment themes,” John Watson, senior managing director at Blackstone, said in the equity announcement.

Blackstone has also pursued data-center exposure through Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust (BXDC), which priced an initial public offering of 87.5 million shares at $20 per share on May 13. A 30-day underwriters’ option could raise total gross proceeds to $2 billion.

BXDC is targeting newly built, income-producing and stabilized data centers leased to investment-grade hyperscale tenants under long-term contracts. That approach differs from Firmus’ focus on expanding AI factories and Project Southgate.

Blackstone’s portfolio also includes a blended 64% equity interest in three fully leased Northern Virginia data centers. Digital Realty agreed June 29 to acquire that interest. The facilities represent 288 megawatts of IT capacity and have a gross value of $7.8 billion.

Consideration to Blackstone would total $3.5 billion, including $1.2 billion in cash and $2.3 billion in Digital Realty shares. The three facilities each have 96 megawatts of IT capacity and are collectively leased to three investment-grade hyperscale customers. Their leases carry a blended average customer credit rating of AA and annual rent escalators of 3.6%.

“The demand for digital infrastructure is even stronger today than when we established this joint venture in 2023, and we have deep conviction in the opportunity ahead,” Mike Forman and Greg Blank of Blackstone said in the Digital Realty announcement.

Together, the transactions show Blackstone using debt financing, direct participation in a private-company equity round, a public vehicle and a partial asset sale to build and manage exposure to digital infrastructure.