Construction firm ACS and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have formed a €2 billion ($2.33bn) joint venture to build and manage data centers.

The JV will oversee the existing ACS digital infrastructure pipeline, which consists of data center schemes in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, with a projected capacity of 1.7GW.

ACS is also reviewing projects with a capacity of up to 11GW, with a view to adding some or all of them to the JV.

News of the venture was first reported by Reuters and others earlier this week, and confirmed by the companies on Friday. Rumors of the firms working together first surfaced in September.

ACS group CEO Juan Santamaría said: “This agreement is a decisive step in our strategy to lead the digital infrastructure sector globally. By joining forces with GIP, we are combining ACS’s development, engineering, and construction expertise with the deep investment capacity and industry experience of one of the world’s leading infrastructure investors.

“Together, we are uniquely positioned to meet the surging demand for AI and cloud computing with comprehensive, sustainable solutions.”

The deal values the data centers currently in the ACS pipeline at €2bn ($2.33bn), with the partners contributing a €1bn ($1.16bn) up-front payment, and an additional €1bn based on commercial performance. ACS and GIP each have a 50 percent stake in the JV.

ACS is best known in the US as the owner of Turner Construction. The company owns or has stakes in Hochtief, CIMIC, Leighton Asia, Ventia, and numerous others. Data center clients include Meta and Vantage.

Traditionally known as a construction firm serving clients’ own builds, ACS has recently pivoted to developing its own data centers that can be leased or sold to customers.

Recent reports suggest the company has a potential development pipeline totaling 5GW globally.

The company has potential developments in the works in Aragon, Spain, and Fort Worth, Texas. In 2023, the company’s Iridium unit acquired a 6.7-hectare parcel of land in the Alcalá de Henares area of Madrid for the construction of a new 50MW data center.

The company’s Q3 2024 results presentation highlights an investment strategy for greenfield data centers. It noted 1.1GW of capacity (278MW in Spain, 220MW in Australia, 300MW in the US, and 300MW in Chile) totaling $3.4bn in equity. ACS said at the time it has a further 4GW in “additional opportunities.”

In Europe, ACS-owned Hochtief PPP Solutions is developing a fleet of liquid-cooled wooden Edge data centers. The firm recently launched its first site and has several more in development around Germany, and could expand into Austria and the UK.

Founded in 2006, GIP manages more than $100bn in client assets across infrastructure equity and debt, with a focus on energy, transport, water and waste, and digital sectors. BlackRock acquired GIP last year.

The company’s digital investments include data center firm CyrusOne and Vodafone tower company Vantage Towers (both in partnership with KKR). The firm has also previously provided loans to data center firm Vantage (unaffiliated with the tower company).

BlackRock also owns European data center operator Mainova Webhouse. The investor also has a $30bn “AI Infrastructure Partnership” (AIP), which was founded in September last year with participation from Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-backed investment company MGX. In June 2025, the Sovereign wealth fund, the Kuwait Investment Authority, joined the AIP. The firm recently invested in a new UK data center venture.