Blackstone has reportedly won the race to acquire AirTrunk, and looks set to pay AU$20 billion (US$13.5bn) for the Australian data center operator.

The world’s largest asset manager, Blackstone has emerged as the preferred bidder for AirTrunk by offering more cash than its rivals, according to a report from Bloomberg that cites people familiar with talks between the companies.

Macquarie Group and PSP Investments, which currently own a majority stake in AirTrunk, are in discussions with Blackstone to finalize a deal, the report said. Blackstone, Macquarie, and PSP all declined to comment when approached by Bloomberg.

DCD reported in January that AirTrunk was up for sale, with Macquarie and PSP having decided to dispose of their asset after shelving a previous plan for an IPO.

Blackstone registered an interest in buying the company a month later, and in June joined DigitalBridge and GIP in making offers for the business.

Now it appears Blackstone is in pole position to complete a deal. If confirmed, the AU$20 billion price tag will be considerably more than the AU$12 billion ($8bn) AirTrunk’s owners were said to be seeking at the start of the year.

APAC-focused operator AirTrunk was founded in 2016 with plans to develop hyperscale data centers in Australia. The company opened its first facility in Sydney in 2017, and has since expanded across the region, operating and developing campuses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Last month it announced plans to expand its campuses in Johor, Malaysia, and Melbourne, Australia.

In July, Blackstone revealed it has more than $70 billion in prospective data center pipeline development. It added that it also had a current data center portfolio of $55bn, including facilities under construction.