Apollo Leads Consortium in $15B Data Center Platform Acquisition

CoreEdge operates 42 data centers across 18 markets in the United States and Canada, with total capacity of 380 megawatts and a development pipeline of an additional 600 megawatts. The consortium includes Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and Canadian pension giant CDPQ, each contributing approximately $2 billion in equity alongside Apollo's $5 billion commitment.

AI-Driven Demand

The acquisition is fundamentally an AI infrastructure bet. Enterprise demand for GPU-dense computing environments has pushed data center occupancy rates to record levels, with tier-one markets like Northern Virginia and Dallas reaching 98-99% utilization. CoreEdge's development pipeline positions the platform to capture this demand as hyperscalers and AI companies seek additional capacity.

Apollo Infrastructure partner David Sambur described the opportunity: "Data center demand is growing at 25-30% annually, driven by AI workloads. CoreEdge has permitted sites and power allocations that would take new entrants 3-5 years to replicate. That development pipeline is the core value driver."

Valuation and Returns Profile

At $15 billion enterprise value, CoreEdge is being acquired at approximately 25x EBITDA — a premium to recent comparable transactions averaging 20-22x. However, the consortium expects the development pipeline to drive EBITDA from $600 million currently to over $1.5 billion by 2029, reducing the forward multiple to 10x.

The deal includes $7 billion in project finance debt secured against individual data centers, a structure that limits recourse to the parent entity. Apollo plans to invest an additional $4 billion in development capex over the next three years, primarily funded through project-level green bonds tied to CoreEdge's commitment to 100% renewable energy procurement.