Data Center Investment News — 07/10/2022
IMCO invests $450 million in DataBank
The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) is to invest up to US$450 million in DataBank,
The Canadian company this week announced it has signed an agreement to invest in the company as part of DataBank’s recapitalization process, announced in June 2022 by DigitalBridge. Closing of the transaction is anticipated to be in Q4 2022.
“Investing in high-quality companies and markets with secular growth is key to delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients. DataBank’s leadership position in digital infrastructure and experienced management team makes it an ideal investment for our infrastructure portfolio,” said Rossitsa Stoyanova, Chief Investment Officer, IMCO. “We look forward to partnering with DataBank’s management and our co-shareholders to execute the company’s business plan.”
In June, DigitalBridge announced that affiliates of Swiss Life Asset Management AG and EDF Invest would be acquiring 27 percent of DataBank for approximately $1.2 billion in cash from existing investors including DigitalBridge. Later, Northleaf Capital Partners and Ardian also joined the round, taking the acquisition value to $1.5 billion.
American Tower’s senior management team altered as veteran exec exits
American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) has announced changes to its senior management team. Ed DiSanto intends to step down from his position as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, effective January 1, 2023.
Ruth Dowling, who has been with American Tower for over ten years, will succeed DiSanto in the role of Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, effective the same day.
To assist in the transition of responsibilities, DiSanto will assume the new role of Executive Vice President, Special Advisor and Counsel to the Chief Executive Officer, reporting to Tom Bartlett, also effective January 1, 2023.
DiSanto first joined American Tower in 2007 in his role as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary.
STC launches $1bn infra business arm to cultivate Saudi Arabia’s data economy
Saudi Arabia’s largest telecom player Saudi Telecom Company (stc) (TADAWUL: 7010) has launched Center3 with an investment value of US$1 billion to promote data economy growth in the Kingdom.
The new company will manage digital infrastructure assets owned by the STC group, including data centres, submarine cables, and internet exchange points (IXPs).
Center3’s billion Dollar cheque comes on top of STC’s announcement earlier in 2022 of its US$1 billion Mena Hub digital infrastructure subsidiary. According to Bloomberg, STC may sell a stake in wholly owned Center3 to finance the logo’s strategy.
Mohammed Alabbadi, STC’s chief carrier and wholesale officer and chairman of Center3, said: “We have already had talks with potential investors. Whether it’s direct equity share or an IPO, those things will be analysed in due course.”
DigitalBridge’s subsidiary sets date for $400m Chile data centres opening
DigitalBridge-backed (NASDA: DGBR) Scala Data Centers said it will cut the ribbon on its Chilean data centre campus development in the first quarter of 2024.
Located in Lampa, Santiago metropolitan area, the campus will have 120MW of total capacity with an initial delivery of 30MW.
The facility is being developed to support a hyperscale client. This is in line with the company’s 90-10 percent ratio of hyperscale and enterprise customers respectively according to its chief executive Marcos Peigo.
The company started the construction of the first data centre campus in the municipality of Curauma, Valparaíso area, in September 2022 with a total planned capacity of 45MW. The first building is expected to be completed in March 2023 and is anchored in a long-term contract with a hyperscale client.
Greece data centre CAPEX wins fresh investment round from Digital Realty
US digital infrastructure REIT Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) said it will build its first data centre in Crete through its national brand Lamda Hellix.
Situated in Heraklion, the facility will be the island’s first carrier-neutral facility, and is expected to support the development of up to 6.5 megawatts (MW) of installed IT load, with the first phase scheduled for completion in 2025.
Digital Realty added that it expects the facility to serve as an interconnection hub for intercontinental and regional subsea cables landing on the entire island, including at Chania, Tympaki and Sitia.
Digital Realty’s Greek presence includes today two operational data centres and two under development in Athens. The development in Crete complements Digital Realty’s presence in Marseille, which currently accounts for 90% of subsea cable traffic between Asia, the Middle East, East Africa and Europe.
Telehouse’s $1bn European expansion budget delivers new Paris data centre
Global colocation provider Telehouse International Corporation of Europe, has announced the start of construction work for a second data centre at its TH3 Paris Magny campus in France.
The construction of the facility is part of the company’s €1 billion (US$1 billion) announced in 2020 to double the hosting capacity of all Telehouse European sites within five years.
TH3 will cater to a capital expenditure (CAPEX) of €50 million (US$49.91 million) and will provide 12,000m2 of IT floor space, and 18 megawatts of electrical power. The data centre is scheduled to open its doors in October 2023 and follows a number of Telehouse data centre expansion projects including the TH2 Paris connectivity hub.
Takayo Takamuro, Deputy Managing Director at Telehouse, said: “This is a crucial step in our ongoing European growth strategy and adds value to our customers collocating in the UK and around the world.
Stockholm lands 20MW heat exchanger data centre
Conapto, together with real estate company Fastpartner, has signed an agreement for the development of a 10,000 sqm data centre property in southern Stockholm, Sweden, which will send excess heat to the local heating system.
When fully developed, this property will support an 8000 sqm data centre and 20 MW power. Phase 1 will count with 4,000 sqm across two floors. The group expects customer to begin moving in starting 4th of October 2023. Work on building design and construction has already begun.
The facility will be connected to the district heating network for recycling the excess heat that the customers’ IT equipment generates in the data centre, in line with a growing industry trend.
Håkan Björklund, CEO of Conapto, said: “A milestone in Conapto’s history where we continue to develop our offering around sustainable, secure and flexible colocation in Stockholm. With this expansion, we can offer one of the largest data centre campuses on the south side with a total capacity of 24 MW and 10,000 sqm of data centre space.
Google lines up 3.2m sq ft Berlin data centre campus
Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google seems to have its eyes set on Europe with the company due to officialise the launch of a new data centre investment this time in Germany.
The Silicon Valley multinational has plans to build a 30 hectares or 3.22 million square feet cloud campus in the greater Berlin-Brandenburg area, in the Schenkendorf district of Mittenwalde. The company has already signed preliminary contracts to acquire the land and is also evaluating other locations.
“We have initiated the purchase of a property in Mittenwalde and are examining other options in the region,” Google spokesman Ralf Bremer told local media outlet Maerkische Allgemeine.
Further steps are necessary before the final takeover takes place; however, it is uncommon for a hyperscale investor of the likes of Google to make public statements on a project without some certainty it will happen.
Meta’s Utah digital infrastructure CAPEX reaches $1.5bn with new data centre expansion
Meta Platforms Ltd (NASDAQ: META) has announced plans to expand its data centre footprint at its Eagle Mountain facility.
The new investment will take the Facebook parent group capital expenditure (CAPEX) in the state of Utah to more than US$1.5 billion creating over 300 jobs since 2018.
The Eagle Mountain Data Center is part of the global infrastructure that supports Meta technologies, and as part of the company’s commitment to support its data centre with 100% renewable energy, Meta said it is helping to bring 894 MW of new solar energy to the state of Utah in support of operations in the region.
“Water conservation is also a priority, and we are continuing to invest in local water restoration projects that will replenish local watersheds and save water,” Meta said in a Facebook post.
Hong Kong investor tops out Shanghai data centre with hyperscale site on track for 2023 opening
Hyperscale data centre operator Chayora has reached full structural completion of the first data centre on its second campus in Shanghai.
A formal ceremony was held to mark the completion of the upper structure as the company progresses on schedule to achieve Ready for Service status on the self-owned campus in the Chinese city at the start of 2023.
Announced in November 2021, this is the second campus to be delivered by Chayora, whose Tianjin and Shanghai campuses, when fully developed, will provide capacity of more than 200MW of IT load and over 35,000 racks for customers.
At full build, the Shanghai campus will count with three data centre buildings deployed in a total landmass area of 8.5 acres and on its own will boast 120MVA of dual-feed gross power sufficient to support 48MW+ IT load on a 2N supply.
NTT invests in further expanding Japan data centre base with $276m
Japanese multinational NTT Corporation (NTT) has announced it will build another Osaka facility in an investment valued at approximately 40 billion yen (US$276 million).
The “Keihanna Data Center” in Soraku-gun, Kansai, Kyoto Prefecture, is projected to be brought online in second half of 2025. The facility will sit under the NTT Global Data Centers (NTT GDC) brand with services to be provided by NTT Com.
The building has been designed as a four-story, seismic-isolated structure that will supply a total of 30 MW for IT load (starting at 6 MW and gradually expanding) to a server room space of 10,900 sqm (equivalent to 4,800 racks).
NTT said the facility will be powered through renewable energy feeds. The data centre will be constructed adjacent to NTT Group’s research and development facilities to further promote research related to IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network).
Compass files for 250,000 sq ft data center outside Dallas, Texas
Compass has filed to build a new 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sqm) data center in Red Oak, Texas. First reported by BizJournal via a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the company is planning a 251,815 sq ft data center in Red Oak, close to its existing campus.
The $100 million project, to be located to the south of Dallas in Ellis County, is known as Roadrunner Building 2. Although the filing was only registered this week, it says construction was set to start in late December 2021 and is set complete by late December 2022.
The news follows a recent Compass filing with the state of Texas for a renovation project known as Vallies ELT-1 at 441 N. Austin Blvd. This new filing is seemingly on the same site, located at 481 Austin Blvd.
Compass currently operates two sites in Texas. One in Allen in the Plano area of North Dallas, and another in Red Oak on Houston School Road.
EdgeConneX to expand into Philippines with Aboitiz
EdgeConneX has partnered with local Philippine firm Aboitiz and is planning two data centers around Manila.
In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange this week, Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) announced it was diversifying into data centers in a partnership with EdgeConneX.
The company said the new joint venture aims to develop a data center platform to serve cloud service providers. The initial data center will be located in proximity to the National Capital Region of Manilla, with a secondary hyperscale campus planned to be located in the Greater Manila Area. Specifications and timelines weren’t shared.
“Businesses are increasingly turning to cloud service providers — or “hyperscalers” — for cost efficiency, flexibility, and scalability; and thus the need for data centers has never been more demanding. This trend will continue with certainty and speed, and our efforts to seize the opportunities it offers have been proven successful with this latest landmark infrastructure deal for the Aboitiz Group,” said Sabin Aboitiz, President, and CEO of the Aboitiz Group.
Raxio breaks ground on data center in Maputo, Mozambique
The Raxio Group has broken ground on a new data center in Maputo, Mozambique.
The company this week announced the groundbreaking of Raxio MZ1, which will be the country’s first carrier-neutral, privately-owned facility. The 250-rack, Tier III quality facility is located in the Beluluane Industrial Park and is set to launch in 2023.
Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Group, said “We’re delighted to break ground on another facility, which demonstrates Raxio’s commitment to serving the region’s economy and digital transformation journey. We are looking forward to supporting the country’s digital growth by developing the first hyperscale ready colocation data center that will be operated by a team of highly skilled Mozambican professionals. Our site at the MozParks Industrial Park provides us with an ideal operating environment, with prime access to connectivity and power infrastructure, as well as the possibility to supply our site largely from renewable energy sources, allowing us to further our ambitious ESG goals.”
Master Power Technologies, which entered a long-term partnership with Raxio last year, will lead on mechanical and electrical works. General Contractor Mota Engil will be responsible for the civil works, with Keyplan Associates as the local architect.
IFC invests $30 million in WIOCC
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $30 million in West Indian Ocean Cable Company Holding Ltd (WIOCC Group).
The World Bank-affiliated IFC this week announced it was making an equity investment into the cable owner & operator and data center firm.
The new investment will support WIOCC Group’s continued rollout of terrestrial fiber-optic networks, new subsea cables, and the launch of data center infrastructure across the continent.
“At IFC, we recognize that there is a critical need for reliable digital infrastructure, which is fundamental to improving the quality of people’s lives and driving business growth,” said Mohamed Gouled, IFC Vice President of Industries. “In the past fiscal year, ending in June 2022, IFC invested $1.3 billion in digital infrastructure, with over half of those investments taking place in Africa’s telecommunications, media, and technology sector. Our partnership with WIOCC Group underscores IFC’s commitment to closing the digital divide in Africa.”