UPDATE 1 — BlackRock, IFM close in on $25 billion Stack data center deal, Bloomberg News reports

(Adds details and background paragraph 2 onwards) Sept 24 (Reuters) — A consortium backed by BlackRock and IFM Investors is in exclusive talks to buy Stack Infrastructure's Asia Pacific data center portfolio for up to $25 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Global investors have been pouring money into Asia's booming data center sector, driven by rising demand for cloud computing, AI and digital services. The investor group, which includes the BlackRock-backed Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) and IFM, is preparing to conduct due diligence on the assets and hopes to reach an agreement soon with Stack's owner, Blue Owl Capital, the report said. Denver-based Stack operates data centers across key Asia-Pacific markets including Tokyo, Osaka, Sydney and Melbourne, according to its website. Deliberations are ongoing, and talks could be prolonged or fail to result in a deal, the report added. Reuters could not i