The $40bn Aligned agreement puts infrastructure exits in focus

A consortium including the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, MGX and Global Infrastructure Partners announced an agreement to acquire all equity in Aligned Data Centers on 15 October 2025. The announcement put the implied enterprise value at approximately $40 billion. It is a substantial example of strategic and institutional capital pursuing digital infrastructure.

Enterprise value is the value of the operating business before the adjustment from debt and cash to shareholder equity value. It should not be described as cash distributed to sellers. This article reports the announced agreement; it does not infer completion or a realised investor return from the announcement alone.

For Bolt, the transaction is useful evidence that the potential buyer universe for infrastructure can extend beyond technology companies. Our interpretation is that established platforms with operating capability and expansion potential may appeal to long-duration capital. That broadens the strategic context in which an infrastructure investment can be assessed.

The comparison with CUDO needs to remain disciplined. An owner and developer of data centres can have a different asset mix, capital structure and customer proposition from a specialist AI compute operator. The Aligned headline is therefore sector context, not a valuation multiple that can simply be applied to CUDO.

Prospective investors can use the transaction to frame better questions about an eventual exit: what exactly would a buyer acquire, how predictable are the earnings, what further capital is needed and which obligations rank ahead of equity? Attractive sector transactions make the opportunity more visible. Company-specific execution and ownership terms still determine whether that opportunity becomes proceeds for investors.