Data Center Investment News — 14/10/2022
Macquarie-backed Prime Data Centers expands global construction leadership team
US hosting firm Prime Data Centers has appointed Kristen Bejarano to the position of vice president of construction.
In this role, Bejarano will lead the planning, design and construction of Prime’s data centre infrastructure solutions globally. Bejarano has more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale construction projects totalling more than US$1.5 billion in both the private and public sectors.
Prior to joining Prime, she served a tenure with one of the largest construction companies in the United States, Sundt, on various commercial projects, including federal design-builds, hospitality, commercial development and mission-critical data centre projects.
Commenting on her appointment, Bejarano said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Prime, our clients and teams to set the standard for excellence in the data centre industry.
STACK Infrastructure to turn Coca-Cola factory into an 80MW FLAP data centre
IPI Partners-backed STACK Infrastructure said it will develop an 80MW data centre campus in Frankfurt (Liederbach), Germany.
The business acquired the 70,000-square-meter (17-acre) site from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH (CCEP DE), who operated a bottling and distribution plant at the location for more than 50 years.
STACK, through its EMEA subsidiary STACK EMEA, worked with CCEP DE to obtain the property while also collaborating with the Municipality of Liederbach to foster valuable local relationships for its advanced data centre campus.
The campus will accommodate four facilities which will contribute to a circular economy through the deployment of green technologies such as rainwater harvesting and the provision of excess heat to a proposed local residential development.
Brookfield’s LATAM investee opens $180m data centre for business
Brookfield and Digital Realty-backed Ascenty has brought online its fifth unit of the Hortolândia complex, in the interior of the state of São Paulo.
The facilities’ capital expenditure at full build is estimated to reach R$920 million or US$177 million. The section now opened for business represents an investment of R$350 million (US$67.3 million).
Hortolândia 5 has begun operations with 20% of data processing centres occupied by customers, with a plan to reach 60% by the end of 2023.
With the inauguration, the Hortolândia campus had its power expanded by 134%, going from 23MW to 54MW of energy. In addition to the new building, Ascenty is also in the process of constructing a sixth facility at the Hortolândia campus which is expected to start operating in 2023.
EQT-funded EdgeConneX launches in the Philippines with Aboitiz InfraCapital data centre JV
US hyperscale data centre operator EdgeConneX has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC), the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group, to develop a network of hyperscale data centers across the Philippines.
The first two data centers will be deployed in the Manila metro area, with a connectivity-focused facility adjacent to the local internet exchange (IX) and a secondary hyperscale campus facility also located in the greater Manila area.
The partnership will look to tap AIC’s land bank of 1,400 hectares of industrial real estate and AboitizPower’s renewable energy capacity, which the company aims to triple by 2030.
Cosette V. Canilao, Aboitiz InfraCapital President and CEO, said: “There is great excitement about the partnership and the incredible market opportunity the partnership enables.
AyalaLand and PAG’s FLOW to build data centres in Asia
Real estate group AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. (ALLHC; PSE: ALLHC), a subsidiary of Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI; PSE: ALI) and FLOW Holdings I Philippines Pte. Ltd., the vehicle of FLOW Digital Infrastructure, have entered into a partnership to jointly develop data centres across the Philippines.
The initial roll-out will target the delivery of 6MW of capacity as Phase 1 of a hyperscale data centre campus by 4Q 2023. At full build, the parties said the campus will boast 36MW.
Patrick C. Avila, Flow’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We see long-term strategic value in expanding ALLHC’s product offering and capabilities to meet the rapidly expanding needs of the digital economy.
“We view this joint venture as a cornerstone of ALLHC’s growth, and we believe this partnership with FLOW will provide the distinct advantage for ALLHC to become the data centre provider of choice of global hyperscalers and enterprises in the Philippines.”
Google announces SA cloud region as part of $1bn Africa investment drive
Google said it will set up shop in South Africa with a cloud region, its first on the African continent, joining rivals Microsoft and Amazon Web Services which are already present in the country.
The investment will be made through a US$1 billion commitment towards supporting a range of initiatives, from improved connectivity to investment in start-ups, to help boost Africa’s digital transformation.
With the new cloud region in South Africa, Google has closed the gap and is now present on all continents.
However, the company has not disclosed where the location of the cloud infrastructure will be nor when it expects to launch the region.
Heavy machinery begins building Khazna’s 43MW data centre sites in Dubai
Middle East and North Africa digital infrastructure developer Khazna Data Centers has broken ground on two data centre facilities in Dubai.
Adding to its existing presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two facilities to be known as DXB2 and DXB3, are located in Dubai Design District and Ibn Battuta respectively.
The DXB3 facility will be an extension of an existing building transferred to Khazna following the partnership between G42 and e&. With joint capacity of 43 MW of IT load, both data centres aim to address the growing demand for digital-enabling infrastructure.
DXB2 and DXB3 have been designed to with energy-efficient power systems and adiabatic free-cooling chilled water systems. DXB2 and DXB3 will begin operations in Q3 2023 and Q1 2024, respectively.
GTA to open Guam data centre in 2024
Guam’s telecommunications operator GTA has begun construction of the Alupang Data Center comprising a data centre facility and cable landing station in Tamuning.
The site in the Western Pacific will offer over 31,000 square feet of floor space with 4 megawatts (MW) of power capacity. GTA has selected Nova and AMORIENT as the design builders with works anticipated to be completed in the third quarter 2024.
Under the ownership of US-based Huntsman Family Investments (HFI), GTA continues to expand its communications infrastructure across the island and internationally.
Paul Huntsman, President and CEO of HFI and GTA Board Chairman, said: “Our ongoing investments demonstrate Guam’s strategic importance as a global and sophisticated communications hub of the Pacific.
Exclusive: Layer 9 mulls $1.6bn in financing as hyperscaler ups data centre ante in Latin America
Arizona-based Latin America hyperscale data centre operator Layer 9 Data Centers has more than doubled its projected capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the construction of multi-megawatt facilities in LATAM as demand outpaces the regional offering planned capacity.
The company, which last June secured a Series A tranche led by a consortium of industry veterans including LBS Power and DuPont Fabros Technology which was part of a larger US$775 million rollout plan, has now increased its expansion plans to raise up to US$1.6 billion, The Tech Capital can reveal.
A leading financial advisory and asset management firm is managing the process alongside another investment banking institution.
The US$825 million increase in budgeted growth will see the company double down on its 84-acre data centre master plan campus – known as Project Falcon – in the Guanajuato/Querétaro region which has now been increased from two buildings totalling 64MW to four buildings amounting to 96MW. Demand from “several key CSPs” has driven the expansion requirement.
Google to Launch its First Japan Data Center in 2023
Google plans to establish its first data center in Japan by 2023. The company announced that this data center will be based in Inzai City, Chiba, and that it will be funded by a $730 million infrastructure fund that will last until 2024.
After Singapore and Taiwan, the aforementioned data center will be the third in Asia for the company. The new data center will also provide individuals with faster, more dependable access to their tools and services, boost economic activity and jobs, and connect Japan to the rest of the global digital economy, according to the company.
Notably, Google currently offers storage and infrastructure services for local enterprises in its cloud regions in Tokyo and Osaka. In order to power these regions for Google Cloud customers, the company collaborates with colocation facility providers like Equinix. However, it is currently building its own data center to support all of its own services, including YouTube, Gmail, and the rest.
Penzance planning data center in Fairfax County’s Chantilly
Real estate investment firm Penzance is looking to develop a data center in Chantilly in Northern Virginia, on a site previously earmarked for an auto sales facility.
BizJournal reports that this month the company applied to Fairfax County to rezone a plot of land off Lee Jackson Memorial Highway to allow for a 402,000-square foot (37,350 sqm) data center or a 150,000-square-foot (13,935 sqm) warehouse.
An affiliate of Penzance Management LLC acquired the vacant parcel adjacent to an auto dealership cluster, about a mile south of Dulles International Airport, for $10 million in August.
While much of it sits in a floodplain, about 12 acres of the lot are developable, adjacent to Ourisman Chantilly Toyota at 4135 Auto Park Circle. Fairfax County previously rezoned that part of the property under different ownership in 2019, approving the development of vehicle sales, rental, and service facilities, plus a used car storage lot. However, the plot remains vacant.
New company planning 96MW data center site in Perth, Australia
A new data center company is planning a 96MW development in Perth, Australia.
Design and planning firm Urbis Pty Ltd is applying to build an AU$600 million (US$379m) data center campus in the Belmont area of the city at 37 Abernethy Road.
The client in the application is listed as GreenSquareDC, which describes itself as an ‘emerging sustainability-oriented data center provider’. The company’s website is merely a placeholder saying it has developed an ‘innovative green data center design’.
CrunchBase lists Walt Coulston, Managing Director at Sydney-based real estate firm CK Property Group, as part of the new company. A BusinessNews report also links Coulston to GreenSquareDC via company registration filings. DCD has reached out to Coulston for more information.
Edge Centres to deploy Edge data center in Los Angeles’ Aon Center
Australian Edge data center firm Edge Centres has announced plans to deploy a facility in an office skyscraper in Los Angeles, California.
“Work is underway in Los Angeles on EC101,” the company said on LinkedIn this month. “Located at 707 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, EC101 will serve as Edge Centres core location on the west coast. Our footprint in Downtown Los Angeles is distributed between three separate facilities offering true dispersed Edge capability.”
Know as the Aon Center and owned by Shorenstein Properties, the 62-story office skyscraper at 707 Wilshire Boulevard was built in the early 1970s. The entire building totals around 1.1 million sq ft (102,200 sqm).
The Australian Edge data center firm provides modular ‘off grid’ data centers powered by on-site wind and/or solar power and connected to the main grid as backup. Each facility is equipped with just under 1MW of solar infrastructure, and 48-hour battery, and UPS backup equipment, which supports 64 1kW quarter racks. The company says the sites can produce more electricity than they use.
AtlasEdge acquires Germany’s Datacenter One
AtlasEdge has acquired German data center firm Datacenter One (DC1) from Star Capital.
The Digital Realty, Liberty Global, and DigitalBridge-backed company this week announced the deal, which said DC1’s footprint complement AtlasEdge’s existing operations in Berlin and Hamburg and includes ‘significant “ready-to-sell” capacity’.
Terms of the deal were not announced but are expected to close towards the end of 2022 pending the usual approvals. Wolfgang Kaufmann, CEO of DC1, will join AtlasEdge’s Management Team.
Stuttgart-based DC1 offers colocation services out of four facilities in Germany. The company offers two facilities in Stuttgart; the 1,600 square meter (17,200 sq ft) NB10 and 300 sqm (3,200 sq ft) NB8. In West Germany, its LEV1 facility in Leverkusen opened in 2017 and offers 3,000 sqm (32,300 sq ft) with room to expand to 6,000 sqm (64,400 sq ft) and 12MW of capacity. The company opened DUS1 in Dusseldorf in January 2020; the facility offers 7,400 sqm (79,650 sq ft) – expandable to 10,000 sqm (107,600 sq ft).