Elliott Investment Management is exploring strategic options for its UK subsidiary Ark Data Centres, potentially including a sale of the company with a valuation that could exceed £3 billion (approximately $4 billion), according to two sources familiar with the matter.

One source indicated that the US hedge fund has held informal discussions with advisors regarding the potential sale of the Wiltshire-based company, with the process potentially launching early next year.

Another source noted that no formal decision has been made yet, but potential infrastructure investors have been contacted. The source also mentioned that Elliott had attempted to sell Ark in 2023, but the offers received at that time did not meet their expectations.

However, since OpenAI launched its ChatGPT platform in 2022, global demand for data centers has surged dramatically—these facilities provide the backbone for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing services.

McKinsey estimates that to meet the computing power demands driven by AI and cloud services, global investment in the data center sector will reach $6.7 trillion by 2030.

Elliott Investment Management declined to comment, while Ark Data Centres did not respond to requests for comment. The aforementioned sources requested anonymity as the matter has not been made public.

Elliott acquired Ark Data Centres through its private equity division in 2012. European real estate investor Revcap still holds a minority stake in the company (Revcap did not respond to requests for comment). Additionally, Ark has established a joint venture called "Crown Hosting Data Centres" with the UK government's Cabinet Office, which qualifies Ark to handle all public sector data center requirements in the UK.

Earlier this week, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announced plans to build five new AI data centers under the "Stargate project" framework. The Stargate project is a private initiative launched by former US President Donald Trump, planning to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure.

Other transactions in the data center sector include Singapore's SC Capital in talks to acquire UK data center group Global Switch, a deal that could be valued at up to $5 billion.