Vantage Data Centers to buy Next Generation Data

Vantage Data Centers, which is backed by Digital Bridge Holdings and PSP Investments, has agreed to acquire Next Generation Data. The sellers include InfraVia Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. UK-based Next Generation Data is a technology infrastructure provider.

Correction: A earlier version of this news report stated that TIAA Investments was an existing backer of Vantage Data Center. That was incorrect and has been rectified. 

PRESS RELEASE

DENVER (April 7, 2020) – Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with InfraVia Capital Partners, along with the two founders of the business, to acquire Next Generation Data (NGD). Upon closing, Wales will mark Vantage’s sixth strategic market in Europe following its entrance into five markets (Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich) announced in February 2020, including the acquisition of Etix Everywhere.

This acquisition will provide Vantage customers with access to Europe’s largest data center campus totaling 180MW, including an existing 72MW facility and 108MW of expansion capacity. The NGD campus is in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales, which includes the Welsh capital, and is the region’s economic hub.
Located on 50-acres, the existing NGD data center is a Tier III facility using 100% renewable energy. The facility is rich in connectivity and has fiber delivered by many Tier 1 service providers, offering customers low latency between Wales and London of less than 1.5 milliseconds. In addition, NGD Cloud Gateway provides multiple access services, including Express Route and Connect, and NGD recently became a new hosting facility for LINX Wales. The highly secure site meets the U.K. government’s highest standards, and is one of many reasons that multiple blue-chip, high growth companies currently house their IT infrastructure within NGD’s 750,000 square foot facility.

NGD’s CEO Justin Jenkins, an experienced technology and operations leader, will join Vantage as president, Vantage, U.K., once the acquisition closes. At NGD since its founding in 2007, Jenkins previously served as the company’s CTO and COO before being named CEO in 2018. He has also held leadership roles at Sony Computer Entertainment and several start-up technology companies.

“As the needs of our hyperscale, cloud and large enterprise customers continue to grow, Wales represents a highly attractive U.K. market offering both lower cost and greater scalability versus London,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO, Vantage Data Centers. “NGD customers benefit from very low network latency to London, low power costs and excellent fiber connectivity, coupled with the company’s massively scalable campus outside London’s highly constrained M25 area. We are thrilled to welcome Justin Jenkins and the entire NGD team to Vantage Europe.”

“The NGD team is excited to join Vantage Europe given our shared commitment to operational excellence, high quality facilities and sustainable building practices,” said Jenkins. “Vantage’s global footprint and broad customer relationships, combined with NGD’s growing hyperscale and enterprise U.K. customer base, position us ideally to accelerate the investment and growth of our U.K. business.”

The transaction will be funded with equity commitments from Digital Colony Partners and other investors in Vantage, as well as acquisition debt financing.

“The need for hyperscale data centers is more vital than ever, and we are thrilled to support Vantage Europe in its acquisition of NGD,” said Marc Ganzi, CEO of Digital Colony and CEO-elect of Colony Capital. “Despite the current market dislocation, Digital Colony remains committed to supporting its portfolio companies and meeting the ever-increasing needs of our valued customers around the globe. This strategic acquisition advances that goal, providing Vantage Europe with immediate scale and access to significant renewable energy in the important UK market.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q3 2020. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

About Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across six markets in North America and five markets in Europe, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

For more information, visit www.vantage-dc.com

About NGD
Located in the Cardiff Capital Region, NGD is a purpose-built, carrier-neutral Tier III facility offering 750,000 square feet of highly secure and cost-effective space. NGD’s environmentally-friendly, high-level technology infrastructure is designed to meet and exceed the ever-increasing demand for more computing power. Among its many features are a high capacity 180 MVA power supply direct from the super grid and sourced from 100% renewable energy, as well as a variety of on-site, high-speed and low-latency carrier interconnects.
For more information, visit www.nextgenerationdata.co.uk