CPP Investments, Equinix To Acquire AtNorth In $4 Bln Deal
(RTTNews) - Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and digital infrastructure company Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) on Friday said they have agreed to acquire Nordic data center operator atNorth from Partners Group in a transaction valued at $4 billion.
CPP Investments will invest about $1.6 billion for an approximate 60% controlling stake, while Equinix will hold around 40%.
The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to Equinix's adjusted funds from operations per share.
The partners have provisionally agreed to a $4.2 billion financing package underwritten by European and Canadian lenders to fund the acquisition and future expansion.
atNorth operates eight data centers across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with additional sites under development. The company has an installed and active development pipeline of about 800 MW expected to come online over the next five years, along with 1 GW of secured power for further expansion. Its facilities are designed to support AI and high-performance computing workloads, with several sites enabled for liquid cooling and powered by renewable energy.
"The scalable sites of atNorth are very complementary to Equinix's connectivity services and global footprint. Combined with our joint focus on sustainability, this acquisition is expected to enhance our ability to help customers unlock the full potential of the Nordics' expanding digital landscape," said Bruce Owen, President, EMEA, Equinix.
"This transaction builds on our long-standing and highly productive relationship with Equinix," said Maximilian Biagosch,Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Real Assets, CPP Investments. "It demonstrates our conviction and commitment to the data center sector, where demand continues to accelerate, fueled by continued strong enterprise demand as well as cloud and AI adoption."
