Ares Management is assembling a senior equity investment team to scale its digital infrastructure strategy in Europe, signalling a broader push to increase its datacentre exposure. 

TMT Finance has reported on three new hires for Ares since October 2025, including Bill Davis, previous CIO for Pure DC, who will act as partner and CIO for Ares; Manjari Govada, who is expected to join from her current role as managing director for DigitalBridge; and Marco Fok, who is also expected to join Ares from Pure DC, where he currently acts as senior director, investments and portfolio management.

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Datacentres in focus

Alongside these hires, Ares is increasingly targeting datacentres as an important growth engine. It is reportedly targeting more than US$8bn of equity fundraising for projects across the UK, Japan, and Brazil.  

While the firm remains a key lender in the sector, including through its US$2.4bn refinancing and expansion package for Vantage Data Centers in February 2026, its focus is increasingly shifting toward its datacentre equity strategy. 

This equity push is centred on Ada Infrastructure and the Japan DC Partners I fund, through which Ares has raised US$2.4bn to develop three hyperscale campuses around Tokyo. The firm is already building a wider pipeline, from seeking tenants for an East Tokyo facility owned by GCP Capital to acquiring a 314-acre site in Spotsylvania County, Virginia through Ada.  

Together, the moves show how Ares is focusing not just financing returns, but also long-term development, and leasing, putting the firm on a path to become a leading hyperscale datacentre owner alongside peers such as Blackstone, KKR, and DigitalBridge. 

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