May 2026 in data centers.

# Executive Summary: May 2026

May recorded 90 transactions worth $38.2 billion across 9,380 MW—a 543% month-over-month surge in deal count that marks the sharpest single-month acceleration in 2026. The headline is Google's divestiture of approximately $15 billion in capacity to Blackstone across three tranches on May 21, which alone represents nearly 40% of the month's transaction volume. Beyond this anchor deal, capital deployed across a geographically dispersed set of markets: Richland Parish captured 5,000 MW (nine facilities), Ashburn retained its position as the densest cluster with 4,296 MW across 161 properties, and secondary markets including Las Cruces (4,500 MW) and Abilene (2,950 MW) attracted meaningful single-facility commitments. Deal flow magnitude stands in stark contrast to April's 14 closings, signaling a sharp inflection in M&A appetite after a muted spring. However, the $38.2 billion represents a 40% decline in transaction value compared to April, indicating that April's deal set, though smaller in count, carried substantially higher per-MW valuations.

This reactivation in transaction velocity—coupled with year-over-year deal growth of 1,700%—suggests consolidation and portfolio rebalancing among hyperscalers will accelerate through Q2 and Q3, particularly as power procurement constraints tighten in core markets like Northern Virginia. Blackstone's absorption of Google's portfolio signals institutional capital's confidence in long-duration power supply and grid-adjacent yields, even as near-term capacity margins compress. The concentration of May's MW additions in power-constrained or newly-enabled markets (Richland Parish, Las Cruces) indicates buyers are hunting for capacity outside traditional hubs; this pattern will likely persist if Ashburn and other Tier-1 markets continue to face interconnection queue depth in excess of 18–24 months. Expect M&A intensity to remain elevated through summer, with secondary markets and off-balance-sheet monetization by hyperscalers to dominate the deal calendar.