The Firm is representing Blackstone affiliated funds led by Infrastructure, Real Estate and Tactical Opportunities in connection with their entry into a joint venture with Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) to develop four hyperscale data center campuses across three metro areas on two continents. The developments are expected to support approximately 500 megawatts (MW) of total IT load upon full build out of all campuses. Blackstone will acquire an 80% ownership interest in the joint venture for approximately $700 million of initial capital contributions, while Digital Realty will maintain a 20% interest. The four hyperscale data center campuses are located in Frankfurt, Paris and Northern Virginia and have a total estimated development cost of approximately $7 billion over the course of the next several years.
The Simpson Thacher team includes Scott Kobak, Wheatly MacNamara, Tom Lloyd, Sam Rudik, Luca Sportelli, Krishma Mali, Avi Kaye, Dorian Ledbetter, Manfredi Sclopis and Josh Schub (Real Estate); Michael Chao and Anthony Vernace (M&A); and Nancy Mehlman, Jenna Al-Malawi and Preston Irace (Tax).