Tracking Apollo's Growing Presence in Digital Infrastructure and Data Center Investments
Apollo Global Management has recently raised its profile in the data center sector, strategically acquiring assets and forming partnerships to bolster its digital infrastructure portfolio.
Notably, Apollo's acquisition of STACK Infrastructure's European colocation business and Argo Infrastructure Partners Tierpoint assets, along with discussions to lead a substantial financing package for Meta Platforms, mark its most recent moves to grow and invest in the data center industry.
While its earlier acquisition expand on investments in the mid-market data center colocation market, the Meta move would be one of the company’s first significant plays in the hyperscaler space.
Acquisition of STACK Infrastructure's European Colocation Business
Apollo's infrastructure funds agreed to acquire seven data centers located in key European markets: Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Milan, and Geneva.
These facilities serve a diverse clientele, including telecommunications carriers, IT service providers, and financial institutions. The transaction involves a carve-out from STACK Infrastructure, a portfolio company of Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure Advisors LLC.
As part of the deal, the existing management team and employees of STACK's EMEA colocation unit will transition to the new company, which will be rebranded and operate independently from STACK Infrastructure. This separation allows STACK to concentrate on its hyperscale clients, while Apollo focuses on expanding the colocation business across Europe.
Sherif Riskalla, CEO of the company, highlighted the advantages this investment will bring to the former STACK business unit as a standalone company, saying:
We are delighted to partner with Apollo to accelerate growth of our business as a new, standalone company. Leveraging Apollo’s expertise in infrastructure, significant access to resources and support, we believe we are extraordinarily well-positioned to capitalize on our industry’s tailwinds and bring even more value to our customers, employees and other stakeholders.”
John Eland, Chief Executive Officer, STACK EMEA, when asked to comment on the acquisition, pointed out that the creation of this business unit had allowed STACK to focus on the needs of its hyperscale customers while delivering a method for the company’s colocation experts to deliver on the needs of the enterprise customer as the primary user of colocation services.
This acquisition solidifies both STACK’s hyperscaler focus and the addition of an enterprise colocation-focused business unit to Apollo’s portfolio.
Earlier Acquisition of Argo Infrastructure Partners and TierPoint
Meanwhile in January 2025, Apollo also agreed to acquire Argo Infrastructure Partners, a mid-market asset manager with approximately $6 billion in assets under management. Argo's portfolio includes significant investments in essential infrastructure assets across North America. For the data center industry, Argo is the majority owner of TierPoint, the U.S.-based data center firm operating around 40 facilities across 18 markets.
This acquisition enhances Apollo's capabilities in managing and expanding digital infrastructure assets, particularly in the U.S. market. By integrating Argo's experienced team and high-quality portfolio, Apollo aims to strengthen its position in the data center sector and provide investors with differentiated access to mid-market core and core-plus infrastructure opportunities. The Argo team joined Apollo’s Sustainability and Infrastructure group, which invests in a variety of related secors.
Commenting on how this acquisition fit into Apollo’s investment strategy, Harry Seekings and Olivia Wassenaar, Partners and Co-Heads of Infrastructure at Apollo, said:
We are excited to announce this agreement with Argo which will add capabilities that are highly complementary to our existing value-add investment strategy. The Argo team has curated a high-quality portfolio, managing assets on behalf of a top-tier group of institutional investors,. Argo has an experienced team with deep origination and asset management expertise, and we look forward to integrating this successful strategy into our franchise, continuing the team’s strong track record of providing investors with thoughtful, differentiated access to mid-market core and core plus infrastructure.
Interconnected Colocation Firms
According to Adam Petrie, Partner at Apollo, all of the company's recent acquisitions fit with Apollo’s investment to meet the demand for data center infrastructure. Petrie said:
We are strong believers in the fundamental tailwinds behind the demand for data center infrastructure. In particular, we believe high-quality, interconnected colocation businesses with differentiated value propositions like the company’s offer an attractive, secular growth opportunity for the long-term. We are very excited to partner with Sherif and his team in taking this business to the next level and expanding its presence across Europe.
Potential $35 Billion Financing Partnership with Meta Platforms
At the end of February 2025, Reuters reported that Apollo is reportedly in discussions to lead a $35 billion financing package for Meta Platforms to develop data centers in the United States. This initiative aligns with the growing computational needs of artificial intelligence and the expansion of digital services along with the data center investment strategy that Meta has publicly discussed.
Meta plans to invest up to $65 billion in 2025 to enhance its AI infrastructure, including a $10 billion AI data center in Louisiana, which will eventually operate on renewable energy in partnership with utility Entergy. Meta has also talked about bringing 1 GW of data center power online in 2025. The Louisiana data center project would be a significant piece of that.
The potential financing deal underscores Apollo's continuing strategic focus on digital infrastructure and would highlight the company’s ability to mobilize substantial capital for large-scale projects. By partnering with Meta, Apollo would position itself at the forefront of supporting the infrastructure needs of leading technology companies investing in AI projects at scale.
Future Potential
Apollo's recent acquisitions and potential partnerships reflect a deliberate strategy to capitalize on the increasing demand for data center infrastructure driven by digital transformation and AI advancements.
By expanding its presence in both European and U.S. markets and aligning with major tech players like Meta, Apollo is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future landscape of digital infrastructure. The market continues to grow, despite mixed messages by major players such has Microsoft who have cancelled planned data center projects for 2025 while publicly stating the company is not reducing its planned investment in the sector.
As an alternative investment management firm, these strategic moves not only diversify Apollo's investment portfolio but also position the firm to deliver long-term value to its stakeholders by tapping into the growing and resilient data center sector. Investments in currently successful colocation partners coupled with major hyperscaler projects provide Apollo with a wide picture of the data center industry as a whole.
