AirTrunk
Asia-Pacific data-centre operator acquired by Blackstone for A$24 billion in 2024; operating hyperscale campuses across Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Last refreshed: 6 May 2026
How does Johor's water freeze affect Blackstone's biggest Asia-Pacific data-centre bet?
Timeline for AirTrunk
Johor halts data-centre approvals after water protest
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash- Who owns AirTrunk and where does it operate?
- AirTrunk was acquired by Blackstone in 2024 for approximately A$24 billion. It operates hyperscale campuses in Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, serving AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Meta.Source: AirTrunk
- How does the Johor data centre freeze affect AirTrunk?
- AirTrunk has a campus in Johor, Malaysia, which was expanding to absorb Singapore overflow demand. The April 2026 approval halt, with water-connection delays until mid-2027, directly constrains AirTrunk's Malaysian growth pipeline.Source: The Diplomat / SCMP
- How much did Blackstone pay for AirTrunk?
- Blackstone acquired AirTrunk in 2024 for approximately A$24 billion (around US$16 billion at the time), one of the largest private equity data-centre transactions globally. AirTrunk operates hyperscale campuses across Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.Source: AirTrunk / Blackstone
- What hyperscalers does AirTrunk serve?
- AirTrunk's customer base includes AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Meta. It operates as a wholesale hyperscale colocation provider, building large campuses to specification for these customers in Asia-Pacific markets.Source: AirTrunk
Background
AirTrunk is one of the largest data-centre operators in Asia-Pacific, with hyperscale campuses in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia (Johor). The company was acquired by Blackstone in 2024 for approximately A$24 billion — the largest data-centre acquisition in Asia-Pacific history at the time — underscoring Blackstone's strategy of building a global data-centre portfolio alongside its separate QTS/Blyth commitments in the UK. AirTrunk's Malaysia operations in Johor give it direct exposure to the water-rights dispute that led to the halt in Tier 1 and Tier 2 approvals in late April 2026.
AirTrunk was founded in 2015 by Robin Khuda and grew rapidly by targeting the hyperscaler wholesale market — contracting capacity to AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Meta rather than retail colocation. The Blackstone acquisition gave the company access to significantly larger capital for campus expansion across its existing markets and into new Asia-Pacific geographies.
The Johor approval halt is an operational constraint for AirTrunk's Malaysian growth pipeline: the company had been expanding in Johor to absorb Singapore overflow demand. The mid-2027 water-connection delay reported by SCMP directly affects AirTrunk's ability to bring new capacity online in that market. More broadly, AirTrunk's Asia-Pacific footprint makes it a significant actor in the regional data-centre story wherever demand, grid, or water constraints surface.