A consortium led by BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and EQT has agreed to acquire AES, one of the world's largest renewable energy producers.

The deal is worth approximately $10.7 billion and aims to bolster AES's position as a major provider of power to the data center sector.

According to reports, GIP and EQT will pay $15 per share for AES.

AES said the deal would better position it to support long-term growth across its business units, including regulated electric utilities and competitive clean energy in the US, and critical energy infrastructure assets in Latin America.

"Over the course of our 45-year history of powering industries and shaping the future of energy, AES has built a diverse portfolio to meet the evolving power needs of our customers and communities,” said Andrés Gluski, president and CEO of AES. “We believe this transaction maximizes value for existing stockholders and positions the company for long-term success as we continue delivering on our commitments to customers, communities, and people. We look forward to partnering with the Consortium, which has expressed an appreciation for the value of AES' innovation, global reach, and diverse portfolio."

“AES is a leader in competitive generation, and at a time in which there is a need for significant investments in new capacity in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, especially in the United States of America, we look forward to utilizing GIP's experience in energy infrastructure investing, as well as our operational capabilities to help accelerate AES' commitment to serve the market needs for affordable, safe and reliable power," added Bayo Ogunlesi, chairman and CEO of GIP.

The acquisition is also expected to bolster AES’ position as a major energy supplier to the data center industry. The company has signed numerous deals with data center firms. Most recently, it signed a deal with Google to provide onsite power to a new data center development in Wilbarger County, Texas.

The company has also signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Meta for more than 650MW of solar power in Texas and Kansas. It has also inked three PPAs with Microsoft across Michigan, Missouri, and Illinois for a combined 475MW of power.

AES has a total portfolio of 34.7GW of assets in operation or development across the US. According to the company, it is currently developing 2GW of clean energy and storage projects across nine states.

GIP has completed several deals within the data center market. In November, alongside construction firm ACS, it announced a €2 billion ($2.33bn) joint venture to build and manage data centers.

The JV will oversee the existing ACS digital infrastructure pipeline, which consists of data center schemes in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, with a projected capacity of 1.7GW.