Intelligence indicates that Stack Infrastructure Inc., a major data center company owned by Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL.US), is evaluating various strategic options, including the potential sale of its Asian operations. Blue Owl, one of the largest alternative asset managers in the U.S., recently reported relatively strong performance, and the purchase of bonds issued by a Blue Owl BDC by global fixed-income investment giant PIMCO has helped ease market anxieties around private credit from their peak in March, though concerns have not fully dissipated.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Denver-based Stack has been in discussions with potential financial advisors regarding the partial or full divestiture of its data center infrastructure assets in Australia, Japan, and Malaysia. The discussions are private, and the individuals requested anonymity. These sources suggest that the Asian data center business could be valued at over $30 billion. Infrastructure-focused funds and industry players may express interest in the assets, though considerations remain preliminary and no final decision has been made. A representative for Blue Owl declined to comment, while Stack did not respond to requests for comment.
Data center operators have attracted significant institutional investor interest in recent years due to their close ties to the unprecedented global artificial intelligence boom. They serve as core infrastructure supporting AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, as well as agent-based AI workflows. Positive signals, such as PIMCO’s acquisition of Blue Owl BDC bonds and Blue Owl’s year-over-year AUM growth to $314.9 billion, suggest that private credit fears have shifted from systemic panic to differentiated pricing.
Meanwhile, the potential $30 billion sale of Stack’s Asian business may help reposition Blue Owl’s narrative away from private credit stress and toward AI infrastructure-driven asset revaluation. Strong demand from cloud computing, AI inference workloads, and digital services has driven institutional investors to pour substantial capital into Asia’s rapidly expanding data center sector. The Asia-Pacific region remains highly active for data center deals: Digital Edge, backed by Stonepeak Partners, is exploring a possible large-scale sale, while Bain Capital is evaluating Bridge Data Centres, and Princeton Digital Group has engaged Goldman Sachs’ Asia-Pacific investment team, potentially leading to another multibillion-dollar transaction. DayOne Data Centers Ltd. is also considering a U.S. IPO.
According to its official website, Stack operates large-scale data centers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Blue Owl acquired Stack last year as part of its purchase of IPI Partners LLC. Stack expanded into the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, establishing its regional headquarters in Singapore and pursuing growth through partnerships with landowners and property developers, as well as acquisitions. In February, sources indicated that Stack was seeking around A$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in loans to accelerate its expansion in Australia. Last October, the company secured ¥39.7 billion (approximately $253 million) in green financing to expand its 36-megawatt campus in Inzai, near Tokyo.
For Blue Owl, which remains at the center of private credit market concerns, the AI infrastructure narrative could drive valuation expansion. During March’s liquidity crunch, investors questioned the loan quality, valuation transparency, redemption liquidity, and AI-related risks within non-traded BDCs and private credit funds, putting pressure on alternative asset managers like KKR and Blue Owl. The core issue has been a market reassessment of underwriting standards and loan quality in the private credit space. Additionally, the Financial Stability Board recently warned that growing interconnections between private credit and banks, insurers, and asset managers, along with issues around transparency, default rates, retail fund inflows, and liquidity mismatches, remain systemic risks.
However, compared to the peak panic in March, sentiment has improved noticeably. Ares Management’s record $30 billion fundraising in the first quarter was seen by some Wall Street analysts as a signal easing doomsday concerns for private credit. Recent reports also indicate that some private credit funds continue to attract new capital despite sector-wide pressure. For Blue Owl specifically, first-quarter AUM grew 15% year-over-year to approximately $314.9 billion, supported by fee-related earnings and physical asset operations. PIMCO’s purchase of $400 million in bonds from a Blue Owl BDC also signaled that institutional capital remains willing to take on Blue Owl’s credit risk.
In other words, while private credit anxieties persist, they have evolved from systemic fear to platform-specific pricing differentiation. The market is beginning to distinguish between players based on asset quality, funding access, and tangible real asset value. A potential sale of Stack’s Asian business at a reported valuation above $30 billion could serve as a positive signal for Blue Owl, reflecting a rediscovery of asset value. The AI infrastructure theme, which has fueled a long-term bull market in global equities, may now extend to Blue Owl’s own stock, driving a new phase of valuation expansion.
This suggests that Blue Owl’s investment narrative is not solely tied to private credit. The Stack data center platform, acquired via IPI Partners, is being revalued in light of the global AI computing infrastructure boom. A partial or full sale of Asian assets could enhance liquidity, validate data center valuations, reduce market discounts on private credit exposure, and reinforce Blue Owl’s repositioning as a multi-platform asset manager spanning credit, physical assets, and AI infrastructure.
It should be noted, however, that discussions around AI data center assets are still in early stages and should not be interpreted as completed deleveraging or valuation realization. While Blue Owl remains in the eye of the private credit storm, its ownership of AI data center assets provides a valuable card, enabling the market to reassess its balance sheet resilience and medium- to long-term valuation anchor.
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