Ares Makes Significant U.S. Data Center Investments in Northern Virginia

Rhea-AI Impact

(Moderate)

Rhea-AI Sentiment

(Positive)

Key Terms

hyperscale data centers technical

Hyperscale data centers are enormous facilities that house thousands of computer servers to store and process vast amounts of digital information. They operate at a massive scale to support cloud computing, streaming services, and online platforms, making them crucial for handling the growing digital demands of businesses and consumers. For investors, these centers represent key infrastructure that enables digital innovation and often drive significant technological growth.

triple-net agreements financial

A triple-net agreement is a lease where the tenant pays the base rent plus property taxes, building insurance, and most maintenance costs, shifting day-to-day expenses away from the landlord. For investors, that means more predictable rental income and lower surprise expenses, much like renting a house where the tenant is responsible for utility bills and yard work; it reduces landlord risk but can also limit upside from cost savings.

triple-net-lease structure financial

A triple-net-lease structure is a rental agreement where the tenant pays the base rent plus the property’s taxes, insurance and most maintenance costs, leaving the landlord with minimal day-to-day expenses. For investors this matters because it creates more predictable, hands-off income—similar to leasing a car where the driver also covers fuel, insurance and repairs—but it also shifts more risk to the property owner if the tenant defaults or the building needs major work.

GPU technical

A GPU (graphics processing unit) is a specialized computer chip designed to handle many calculations at once, originally for rendering images and video but now widely used for tasks like artificial intelligence, data analysis and high-performance computing. Investors watch GPU demand and prices because strong sales often signal growth for chip makers and their customers, affect profit margins and capital spending, and can forecast wider trends in gaming, AI adoption and cloud services.

12/18/2025 - 06:30 AM

Acquires 314-Acre Data Center Development Site in Spotsylvania County and Two 2025-Vintage Hyperscale Data Centers in Leesburg

Transactions Underscore Acceleration of Ares’ Vertically Integrated Digital Infrastructure Investment Capabilities

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today two significant data center transactions in the U.S. by Ares Real Assets funds, underscoring an expansion of Ares’ global data center exposure and the significant advantages through collaboration across its leading digital infrastructure and real estate investment capabilities.

In one investment, the Ares Digital Infrastructure business, through an Ares fund, has secured a 314-acre site situated along the I-95 South data center corridor in Spotsylvania County of Northern Virginia. The data center development site is expected to be designed, delivered and operated by Ada Infrastructure (“Ada”), Ares’ vertically integrated global data center platform within the Ares Digital Infrastructure business. Phase one of the development is expected to comprise two data center buildings totaling 200 MW of IT load capacity. The campus has secured critical utility infrastructure and will utilize Ada’s design and rapid customization capabilities, including flexible cooling system configurations that can accommodate next generation GPU loads.

In a separate investment, an Ares Real Estate fund has acquired two 2025-vintage hyperscale data centers located in Leesburg, Virginia. Totaling 745,000 square feet and 165 MW of IT load capacity, the data centers are fully leased under 15-year triple-net agreements with a leading, investment-grade hyperscale customer, providing long-term income stability and portfolio diversification. Ares continues to reinforce its leadership in fast-growing New Economy sectors—including logistics and data centers—which are benefiting from the acceleration of new digital technologies, global supply chain shifts and the evolution in how communities live and work.

“We are excited to further expand our digital infrastructure presence in the U.S. through these recent acquisitions in one of the world’s largest data center markets,” said Michael Steele, Head of Ares Digital Infrastructure. “Our site acquisition in Spotsylvania County advances the global positioning of Ada Infrastructure through a project in a supply-constrained tier 1 market that continues to see accelerating demand from hyperscale customers. These acquisitions leverage our differentiated platform capabilities as we aim to deliver near-term capacity to our customers, value to local communities and opportunities to our investors.”

“The acquisition of two stabilized data centers underscores Ares’ high conviction in New Economy real assets and Ares Real Estate’s ability to deploy flexible capital at scale,” said David Roth, Global Head of Real Estate Strategy and Growth in Ares Real Estate. “Northern Virginia represents an attractive, rapidly growing and critical data center market, and these assets, in combination with their investment-grade tenant and triple-net-lease structure, provide predictable cash flows, portfolio diversification and strong upside potential. We look forward to supporting the long-term value creation opportunity of these investments.”

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to advance our stakeholders' long-term goals by providing flexible capital that supports businesses and creates value for our investors and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2025, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had over $595 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

About Ada Infrastructure

Ada Infrastructure is a leading data center platform with a global footprint that serves hyperscale and enterprise customers with reliable and scalable capacity. Vertically integrated within the digital infrastructure business of Ares Management Corporation, Ada Infrastructure has nine in-flight campuses as well as a fast follow pipeline across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas. To learn more about Ada Infrastructure, visit www.adainfrastructure.com.