GI Partners Sells Its Final Data Center

GI Partners has sold a Frankfurt-based data center to a subsidiary of Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) for $28 million. GI had acquired 25 technology buildings as part of its debut fund portfolio, for approximately $280 million. It has now exited all of them, with over $1 billion in cash proceeds (21 of them were rolled into a REIT called Digital Realty Trust).

PRESS RELEASE

GI Partners, a trans-Atlantic private equity firm, announced today that it has sold its last remaining Fund I property, a data center in Frankfurt for $28 million (USD) to Equinix (Holding) BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX).  Acquired in June 2004, the data center consists of 310,000 gross square feet and 96,000 net square feet of raised floor space.

This transaction represents the final sale of the 25 technology buildings acquired by GI Partners in its debut fund.  With this sale, the Fund will have realized over $1.0 billion in cash proceeds from these buildings on an initial equity investment of $280 million. This represents a 3.7x multiple to invested capital and a 60% gross IRR.  GI Partners contributed 21 of these properties to the formation of Digital Realty Trust, now a NYSE-listed REIT with an enterprise value of approximately $6 billion.  Other GI Partners Fund I properties previously sold include Sunset Gower Studios, located in Hollywood, CA, and Yates Group, a pub operator with locations throughout UK.

GI Partners is currently making investments from its recently raised GI Partners Fund III L.P., which has secured $2.0 billion of capital commitments from leading institutional private equity and real estate investors.  Its most recent investment is a $116 million joint venture with Macerich (NYSE: MAC) in Macerich’s FlatIron Crossing Mall in Broomfield, Colorado.

Rick Magnuson, Executive Managing Director of GI Partners, said, “We are delighted to be announcing the sale of the Frankfurt Data Center.  The return we have delivered to date from our Fund I is well in excess of the market average and demonstrates the success of our investment strategy.”

“As we embark on Fund III, we are well positioned to leverage the success we’ve achieved from both our Fund I and Fund II investments,” Mr. Magnuson added.  “We are off to a great start in Fund III, with approximately 20% of the committed capital already invested and have a strong pipeline of opportunities.”

About GI Partners
GI Partners is a leading trans-Atlantic private equity firm which makes control oriented investments in asset-based  businesses and properties located in the US and Western Europe.  The firm manages approximately $4 billion of private equity capital on behalf of leading international investors and is active in sectors which include healthcare; real estate; hospitality and retail; logistics and transportation; media and entertainment; financial services, and technology and telecom.  Companies in which it has invested include Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR), Acentic, The Linc Group, Cambian Healthcare, The Planet, Ladder Finance, Orchid Pubs, PC Helps, and Sunset Gower Studios. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.