Pacific Equity Nears Deal to Acquire Spark's Data Centers for Over NZ$600 Million.

Pacific Equity Partners is in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Spark New Zealand's data center business, valued at over NZ$600 million ($357 million). The deal would add a 50%-70% stake in Spark's data center business. The acquisition follows other recent data center-focused deals in the region, aiming to capitalize on the growing demand for machine learning and cloud-based technologies.

Pacific Equity Partners is in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Spark New Zealand Ltd.’s data center business, according to the Australian Financial Review. The deal is valued at over NZ$600 million ($357 million), with the private equity firm expected to take a 50% to 70% stake in the business [1].

The acquisition follows a trend of recent data center-focused deals in the region, as investors position themselves for the growing demand in machine learning and cloud-based technologies. Notably, Blackstone Inc. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired Australian data-center operator AirTrunk last year in a deal valuing the firm at A$24 billion [1].

In a separate development, Blackstone has secured a $550 million CMBS refinancing loan for a 10-property, 1.7 million-square-foot data center collection in Northern Virginia. The portfolio, fully occupied by Amazon Web Services, has a total power capacity of 376 megawatts and is valued at nearly $1 billion [2]. This deal highlights the growing investor appetite for data centers, despite power constraints.

The data center sector is expected to continue growing, with global capacity expanding by 15% annually through 2027, driven by demand outpacing supply. Investors remain interested in the sector due to the increasing use of AI applications [2].

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-10/pacific-equity-nearing-deal-for-spark-s-data-centers-afr-says
[2] https://www.commercialsearch.com/news/blackstone-lands-550m-for-data-center-portfolio/