Both Digiplex and Conapto have been acquired by investment funds this week. Both investments are an acknowledgement of the growth potential of (green) data center growth in the Nordics. Digiplex was acquired by IPI Partners (IPI), a global investment platform, based in Silicon Valley, focused exclusively on data centers and other technology and connectivity-related real assets. Swedish data center operator Conapto has been acquired by the European infrastructure fund, Marguerite II
Digiplex acquisition details
IPI will acquire 100% ownership of all DigiPlex Group companies. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
It is expected that on or around closing of the transaction, a call notice will be served on holders of bonds issued by Norwegian DigiPlex entities as issuers listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange for their early redemption in accordance with their terms.
DigiPlex operates eight data centers across campuses in the key Nordic markets of Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark with a combined footprint of 21,000m² built white space plus over 400,000m² of land currently available for customer expansion. The company has long been committed to the premise that digital transformation and sustainability should advance hand in hand and has won several awards for its energy efficient innovations and sustainability initiatives. DigiPlex’s technologically advanced facilities are powered by 100% sustainable sources.
Through the acquisition of DigiPlex, IPI will gain a significant leadership position in Northern Europe. The transaction brings IPI an immediate strong presence in the region as well as capacity for expansion to accommodate the requirements of hyperscalers and major colocation tenants. DigiPlex’s long and successful history of developing campuses for customers will be leveraged to rapidly expand into complementary markets in Europe. For DigiPlex, the transaction provides capital, expertise and relationships to amplify its next stage of growth within the Nordics and beyond. DigiPlex is IPI’s second acquisition in Europe, following the purchase of Milan-based SUPERNAP Italia in February 2021.
Wiljar Nesse, CEO of DigiPlex: “At a time of rapid growth for the industry, IPI provides near-term scalability to DigiPlex. New capital, as well as a global footprint and access to global supply chains, relationships and customers, are expected to supercharge our growth, enabling us to continue meeting the hyperscale demand that we are experiencing. We believe this acquisition is an acknowledgement of our strong customer relationships and proven business model, and that employees and customers alike will benefit as we accelerate our plans and expand our vision in partnership with IPI.”
Conapto acquisition details
Swedish data center operator Conapto is acquired by the European infrastructure fund, Marguerite II. In a press release the company states: "Conapto will continue the same path as already entered. The brand, the people and all customer agreements will stay as is, Conapto will continue to be the local, agile, and flexible partner with a strong focus on the customer experience. The difference will be that Conapto now will have an even stronger owner that can support the growth and future expansion of the company. The first action will be to build 2 MW additional capacity at Conapto Stockholm North".
Marguerite II is a EUR 745 million pan-European infrastructure fund which targets primarily greenfield investments in renewables, energy, transport and digital infrastructure in the 27-EU member states and pre-accession countries. Marguerite II aims to act as a catalyst of greenfield and expansion of brownfield projects within these countries and to ensure continued support to key infrastructure in the areas of climate change, energy security, digital agenda and trans-European networks.
Marguerite II is managed by Marguerite Investment Management S.A. (“Marguerite”), a Luxembourg based, independent fund manager owned by its partners. Investors in Marguerite II include five leading European national development banks comprising Poland’s Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), France’s Caisse des Dépôts Group (CDC), Italy’s Cassa depositi e prestiti (CDP), Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and Spain’s Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), and the European Investment Bank.
“Conapto has developed into a leading colocation provider in the Swedish market, and, it has become a reference for delivering superior value to its customers. We are delighted to acquire Conapto and look forward to working with its CEO Håkan Björklund and the management team to continue to provide best in class service to the customers and accelerate the growth of the company”, says Michael Dedieu, Managing Partner at Marguerite.
Meet Digiplex & Conapto at Datacenter Forum this fall
"These acquisitions show that there is a lot of potential for data center growth in the Nordics. The Nordic electricity system is one of the world’s most secure, sustainable and renewable, including wind, hydro, biomass, solar, geothermal, wave and tidal power. Investing in Nordic data centers not only makes sense from an environmental viewpoint, but it is also cost efficient", says Wes Vermeere, CMO at Datacenter Forum, "We are happy that our annual national data center events will resume this fall, because there is a lot to talk about".
Click here to register for the Datacenter Forum in Oslo (5th October), Copenhagen (14th October), Helsinki (4th November) and Stockholm (2nd December).
