Blackstone is finalising a $3.5bn private credit loan to support the expansion of Australian data-centre operator Firmus Technologies, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

The loan exceeds A$5bn and could be announced as soon as next week. The financing would back Firmus’ plans to develop large-scale data-centre capacity across Australia, targeting up to 1.6 gigawatts by 2028 through a partnership with CDC Data Centers.

The deal comes amid renewed market volatility linked to concerns over the scale of global AI investment. Even so, spending on data centres to support artificial intelligence is forecast to exceed $3trn worldwide, with private credit expected to fund a significant share of that expansion.

Firmus has already raised A$830m in equity across two funding rounds and recently announced the entry of a new investor. Blackstone’s involvement highlights how private credit managers are stepping in where banks remain cautious, particularly for capital-intensive digital infrastructure projects.

The transaction follows a broader wave of debt-backed data-centre deals globally, as private capital positions itself at the core of AI-driven growth.

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