Buyout firms Blackstone and KKR as well as global data center giant Equinix are among suitors weighing bids for data center company Global Switch, according to Bloomberg. Global Switch has also piqued the interest of Digital Realty Trust and DigitalBridge Group, says to Bloomberg. The sale rumors were touched on earlier this year by Bloomberg, at the time mentioning an amount of 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion) or more.
Data center operator Global Switch is now owned by Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Shagang Group and financially backed by Avic Trust. Global Switch owns and maintains 13 colocation data centers covering 428,000 square meters throughout Europe and Asia Pacific. Government agencies, mobile carriers, and financial organizations are among its clientele.
Data Center Acquisitions: CyrusOne, CoreSite
Global Switch’s prospective sale comes after an unsuccessful Hong Kong initial public offering in 2019. In August of that year, Jiangsu Shagang purchased a further 24 percent interest in a £1.8 billion transaction from British billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, who had started to sell their shares in 2016. Shagang went on to become the data center operator’s largest stakeholder.
The news comes on the heels of KKR together with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) agreeing to acquire global data center operator CyrusOne for $11.5 billion earlier this month. Also this month, American Tower agreed to acquire CoreSite, valuing this data-center REIT at around $10.1 billion, which includes the assumption and/or repayment of CoreSite’s existing debt upon completion.
