Data Center Investment News — 18/11/2022
Kepstar Launches Cambodia’s 1st Tier III Data Center
Kepstar Data Centre Management, a Cambodia-based data center developer and operator, officially broke ground for the construction of the Kingdom’s first Tier III Data Centre.
This data center will serve as a key asset to capture the rapid growth in demand for digital infrastructure as well as to contribute to the transformation of the country to become a Smart Digital Nation. The official groundbreaking ceremony coincided with the Cambodia Tech Expo – CTX 2022, that is was held from 11-13 November 2022 by the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology at the Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Center and Factory Phnom Penh as well as a side event of the ASEAN Summit 2022, according to reports.
Kepstar’s Chairman, Andy Chee, said:
“The data centre will play a significant role in contributing towards the development of digital infrastructure technologies for the Cambodian government’s vision to leapfrog into the digital economy. We are very proud of the groundbreaking today for the commencement of the construction of the data centre, and grateful to be play a part, and contribute to the digital transformation and economic development of Cambodia.”
Blackstone launches Asian data centre investment platform
Global private equity giant Blackstone (NYSE: BX), through its Asia Real Estate Fund and the Tactical Opportunities Fund, has launched a new vehicle to build data centres across India. Named Lumina CloudInfra, the brand will seek to initially deploy 600 MW of critical IT load over the next two years.
Firstly, in Navi Mumbai, Blackstone is close to acquiring two data centres in Airoli and Mahape, and in Chennai, it is in the process to acquire a land parcel to set up a centre. Services in both cities are expected to run from 2023.
Secondly, Pune, Hyderabad and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) are set to follow with projects expected to be brought to market in 2024.
Anil Reddy, formerly head of global cloud infrastructure at Microsoft, will serve as the global chief executive officer of Lumina CloudInfra to lead the platform’s strategy, expansion and growth across Asia.
PE firm Partners Group invests $1.2bn to buy US hyperscale data centre operator
Private equity firm Partners Group has, on behalf of its clients, acquired EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure, an owner, operator, and builder of hyperscale digital infrastructure in the US.
As part of the transaction, Partners Group will invest up to USD$1.2 billion to acquire privately held EdgeCore’s existing and under construction sites in Ashburn, Phoenix, Reno, and Silicon Valley, and fund future acquisitions and buildout.
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, EdgeCore selects, builds, and commercialises data centres for the world’s largest cloud, internet, and technology companies, according to its website. Its initial rollout has been estimated at US$4 billion, with the equity committed by backers.
Partners Group said it will work with EdgeCore’s management team, which has over 140 years of combined industry experience, on its value creation plan. Key initiatives include existing site expansion, acquiring and building future assets in the US, and expanding sustainability initiatives at its data centre campuses.
BDx Indonesia plans 100MW hyperscale data centre campus in Suryacipta
BDx Indonesia is to develop a new 100MW data centre campus on 12 acres of land acquired from PT Suryacipta Swadaya (Suryacipta), part of Suryainternusa Group.
The land is located in the Suryacipta City of Industry, one of the smart industrial estates in Indonesia, located east of Jakarta in Karawang, West Java.
Once operational, the new data centre campus, known as CGK5, will become part of the company’s third availability zone and the 11th data centre for BDx across the Asia-Pacific region. Its location also provides convenient connectivity capabilities to the area’s business district that serves several key industries and has access to a smart power grid.
“As we prepare to break ground on our 100MW greenfield Suryacipta campus in this dynamic market, BDx Indonesia upholds its commitment to support Digital Indonesia and continue its rapid journey of expansion and innovation,” said Mayank Srivastava, CEO of BDx and interim president director of BDx Indonesia.
Helios makes multi data centre investment in Africa and appoint a new MD
Helios Investment Partners (Helios) has entered into agreements for the acquisitions of majority stakes in Maroc Datacenter (MDC) and IXAfrica Data Centre (IXAfrica), for an undisclosed sum.
MDC, a carrier neutral data centre, operates in the Rabat metro area of Morocco and once acquired will serve as a key building block in a broader Helios hyperscale data centre platform in the Rabat and Casablanca metro areas.
“The acquisition of MDC as a key building block in Helios’ broader Moroccan hyperscale DC platform, and the strategic investment in IXAfrica are aligned with our criterion of making investments that have the potential to integrate climate-sensitive solutions into our value creation plans,” said Babatunde Soyoye, Co-founder and managing partner of Helios Investment Partners.
“In both Morocco and Kenya, the delivery of essential infrastructure that is critical to economic growth can be done in manner that is climate-sensitive; from focusing on low-carbon sources of power, to lower intensity consumption of resources, these data centre investments have potential to be blueprints for digital infrastructure’s part in reducing carbon intensity on the continent. The need for lower-cost, lower-latency data delivery has never been greater in Africa; both our Moroccan and Kenyan platforms are expected to be pioneers in addressing this need, and we are encouraged by the prospect of opportunities in other key African markets.”
Prime Data Centers begins building $1bn Illinois data centre campus
US hosting firm Prime Data Centers has broken ground on a US$1 billion Chicago data centre campus in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
The facility will deliver more than 750,000 square feet and 175 megawatts of capacity at full build-out, creating what the company claims will be the largest data centre campus in Greater Chicago.
The first phase of the project, ORD-01, will amount to 384,000 square feet and up to 72 megawatts of power. The development will be marketed to major cloud providers, global Internet businesses, colocation companies, and the Fortune 500 enterprise as a single-tenant, hyperscale data centre.
Speaking at the ground-breaking event, Nicholas Laag, Chief Executive Officer of Prime Data Centers, said: “On behalf of everyone at Prime, I would like to thank Elk Grove Village and the numerous contractors and team members involved in readying ORD-01 for ground-breaking.
Ascenty invests $290m to construct five more data centers in Latin America
Ascenty is to construct five new data centers in Latin America, with the firm investing R$1.5 billion ($290 million). The data centers will be located in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.
It means that data center infrastructure company Ascenty takes its total number of data centers in Latin America to 33, as the company which raised $925 million in credit in April 2021, continues its expansion plans.
Local media outlet Inforchannel reports that two-thirds of the investment has come from the company’s own cash flow, plus contributions from majority shareholders. The remaining $100 million has come from a loan that the company took out in March to expand its existing data centers.
The new data centers are: São Paulo 5 and 6, each with an area of 7,000 sq m and a capacity of 19 MW; Santiago 3, with 21,000 sq m and 16MW; and Bogotá 1 and 2, with 9,000 sq m and 12MW each.