Blackstone, Digital Realty join hands to develop $7 billion data centers

(Reuters) – U.S. investment giant Blackstone (NYSE:) and data-center firm Digital Realty (NYSE:) will create a joint venture that will spend $7 billion on developing data centers, the companies said on Thursday.

The venture plans to develop 10 data centers across four campuses in Frankfurt, Paris and northern Virginia, the companies said.

Demand for data centers has remained resilient even in an uncertain economy as more businesses move to the cloud.

Blackstone will acquire an 80% ownership interest in thejoint venture for about $700 million of initial capital contributions, while Digital Realty will maintain a 20% interest.

The joint venture is scheduled to close in two stages over the course of the first half of 2024.