Blackstone has signed a significant deal with US natural gas firm Williams to fund the development of five behind-the-meter projects to meet growing power demand from the data center market in North America. According to the latest agreement, Blackstone and its partners will provide $5.34 billion in committed capital in exchange for a 49 percent noncontrolling equity interest in the five projects. Williams will retain a 51 percent controlling stake in the assets, with the firm holding a buyout right between years seven and 14 of the agreement, valued at Blackstone's outstanding investment balance. The investment will support the construction of the Socrates, Apollo, Aquila, Socrates the Younger, and Neo projects, which are natural gas plants with Williams constructing both the plants and necessary pipeline infrastructure needed to power them.
The projects have a combined capacity of 2.6GW and are strategically located across key data center markets. Williams' Socrates project in New Albany, Ohio, will deliver 200MW of power to a Meta data center campus and is nearing completion. Socrates the Younger, also in Ohio, will add 340MW, while Neo, the largest of the five at 682MW, is expected online in the second half of 2028. The Aquila project is the only one not located in Ohio, set for Utah with capacity not disclosed but expected to come into service in the first half of 2027. As per Williams leadership, the deal will provide necessary capital to grow its existing Power Innovation projects and support the delivery of its 6GW+ backlog.
This investment builds on Blackstone's extensive data center portfolio and infrastructure expertise. The firm has made significant investments across the sector, including its $10 billion acquisition of QTS Data Centers in 2021 and the $16.1 billion acquisition of APAC operator AirTrunk in 2025 alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Blackstone has also taken stakes in Vnet, Lumina CloudInfra, Copeland, Park Place Technologies, and Winthrop Technologies, as well as joint ventures with COPT, Digital Realty, and others. Robert Horn, global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit at Blackstone, emphasized that Williams is a leader in meeting the country's rapidly growing power demands, including providing critical hard assets to serve the AI infrastructure buildout. The investment enhances returns on existing portfolio through a meaningful promote structure while enabling redeployment into new high-return projects.
Private equity giant Blackstone has officially launched its Asia-Pacific infrastructure platform and appointed Ami Momaya as managing director and head of infrastructure for India. According to the latest official statement, Momaya brings extensive experience from her previous role as managing director at KKR India, where she was responsible for infrastructure investments. Her background also includes senior investment positions at the National Infrastructure Investment Fund and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where she spent 17 years playing a key role in establishing the firm's India infrastructure business. As per the statement, this marks Blackstone's first dedicated infrastructure hire in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the strategic importance of the Indian market and building on more than two decades of investment experience across Asia. The appointment comes as India continues to attract global capital into infrastructure sectors, driven by rising demand for digital infrastructure, energy transition projects, transportation networks, and other critical assets.
Sean Klimczak, Global Head of Infrastructure at Blackstone, emphasized the strategic importance of the Indian market, stating that infrastructure remains a priority for the firm. As reported by multiple sources, Klimczak highlighted significant opportunities across APAC's fast-growing markets and noted that establishing the platform strengthens Blackstone's ability to deploy global scale, expertise, and long-term capital in critical infrastructure supporting economic growth. The firm's infrastructure platform currently manages $84 billion in assets globally, with major investments across APAC including its stake in AirTrunk, the region's leading data center platform. Blackstone Infrastructure Partners invests across energy, transportation, digital infrastructure, and water and waste infrastructure, seeking to apply a long-term buy-and-hold strategy to large-scale infrastructure assets with focus on delivering stable, long-term capital appreciation together with predictable annual cash flow yield.
