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Nearly two years after BlackRock Inc., the $10 trillion asset manager, acquired Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a $12.5 billion deal, the infrastructure fund founded by Nigerian billionaire Adebayo Ogunlesi is back in the spotlight.
GIP, according to Reuters, is in advanced talks to buy AES Corp., a U.S.-based power company valued at about $40 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions could produce an agreement as soon as this week, though they may also face delays or fall apart entirely. Investors are closely watching the negotiations as demand for power surges, fueled in large part by the growth of artificial intelligence.
AES surges on Adebayo Ogunlesi’s GIP takeover interest
AES, headquartered in Virginia, operates power assets on four continents with a combined generating capacity of more than 36,000 megawatts. Following reports of GIP’s interest, AES shares jumped more than 12 percent, lifting its market capitalization above $10 billion. Analysts estimate the company holds roughly $29 billion in consolidated debt, suggesting any takeover would value it at well over $38 billion.
For GIP, the potential deal would mark another big move in the utilities space. The firm has built a reputation through transactions such as last year’s $6.2 billion agreement with CPP Investments to take U.S. utility Allete private. Its acquisition by BlackRock in 2024 strengthened the Wall Street giant’s push into infrastructure and private markets. That deal handed Ogunlesi, GIP’s co-founder, nearly 1.8 million BlackRock shares and $600 million in cash.
Ogunlesi links BlackRock, OpenAI and Oracle
Ogunlesi, now 71, continues to expand his influence in both finance and technology. In addition to sitting on BlackRock’s board, he joined the board of OpenAI earlier this year. The artificial intelligence company, best known for creating ChatGPT, has raised tens of billions of dollars, bought startups, and struck major partnerships. In September, OpenAI agreed to spend $300 billion over five years on computing power from Oracle, one of the largest cloud deals on record.
That contract highlights the scale of energy and infrastructure needed to power AI systems. Analysts estimate the Oracle deal will require about 4.5 gigawatts of electricity—roughly equivalent to the power used by four million homes. It is a reminder that the future of AI is inseparable from the supply of energy, an area where Ogunlesi and GIP remain deeply involved.
