Published: July 5, 2026 | Category: Digital Infrastructure & Real Estate Private Equity | Focus: Capital Recycling Dynamics, Hyperscale Tenant Lease Analysis, and Core FFO Accretion

Blackstone has finalized a definitive agreement to monetize its equity stakes in three premium Northern Virginia hyperscale data centers, selling the portfolio to publicly traded Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) for $3.5 billion in a cash-and-stock transaction. The asset package represents a blended 64% equity position across three state-of-the-art facilities totaling 288 megawatts of IT capacity located in the mission-critical Manassas and Sterling corridors—widely recognized as the highest-density internet traffic hub on earth.

The financial structure of the deal includes a $1.2 billion immediate cash distribution combined with $2.3 billion in newly issued Digital Realty common stock delivered directly to Blackstone’s real estate and tactical opportunities funds. This transaction highlights the massive valuations being assigned to digital infrastructure as institutional capital moves to monetize assets tied to surging artificial intelligence workloads and cloud migrations.

Hyperscale Infrastructure Portfolio Breakdown

• Asset Footprint: 3 Fully Stabilized Data Centers (Manassas & Sterling, Virginia).
• Total IT Power Capacity: 288 Megawatts (96MW per individual facility).
• Occupancy & Underwriting Anchor: 100% Leased to Investment-Grade Hyperscalers under 15-year contracts.
• Long-Term Cash Flow Escrows: Blended AA- customer credit rating featuring 3.6% contractual annual rent escalators.
• Transaction Valuation Baseline: Combined enterprise value of $7.8 billion including assumed debt and remaining construction CapEx.

For Digital Realty, acquiring full control of these high-performing assets expands its capacity in a market facing extreme power and land constraints. The portfolio’s long-term leases with top-tier hyperscalers, paired with built-in 3.6% annual rent increases, provide highly visible, inflation-protected cash flows that management expects to be accretive to Core Funds From Operations (FFO) per share through 2027 and 2028.

Concurrently, the deal allows Blackstone to execute a highly successful liquidity event on its initial joint venture investments while retaining meaningful upside exposure via its $2.3 billion equity stake in the DLR public platform. This deal highlights how top-tier digital infrastructure has become the ultimate real estate prize of the AI era, carrying the kind of pricing power traditional commercial property sectors can no longer match.

Sources

• Blackstone Inc. (Press Room): Official transaction releases published via Real Estate & Tactical Opportunities funds.
• Digital Realty Trust Investor Relations: Investor briefing metrics outlining the blended 64% equity acquisition structure, asset footprints, and Core FFO projections.
• Data Center Knowledge: Industrial tracking reports focusing on the power capacity allocations in the Manassas and Sterling corridors.