Equinix, the global interconnection and datacentre company, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a portfolio of 24 datacentre sites and their operations from Verizon Communications for $3.6 billion. The 24 sites consist of 29 datacentre buildings across 15 metro areas.
The addition of these strategic facilities and customers will further strengthen Equinix’s global platform.
The acquisition of these assets will enable Equinix customers to further respond to a key market trend that is enabling their evolution from traditional businesses to digital businesses. This is the need to globally interconnect with people, locations, cloud services and data.
Additionally, customers will have the opportunity to operate on an expanded global platform to process, store and distribute larger volumes of latency sensitive data and applications at the digital edge, closer to end-users and local markets.
The acquired portfolio includes approximately 900 customers, with a significant number of enterprise customers new to Equinix’s platform, and it adds approximately 2.4 million gross square feet. It will bring Equinix’s global footprint to 175 datacentres in 43 markets and approximately 17 million gross square feet across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific markets.
The transaction is expected to close by mid-2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
How does Equinix gain:
- Increasing interconnection in US and Latin America
- Opening three new markets in Bogotá, Culpeper, Houston
- Accelerating Equinix’s penetration of enterprise, government, energy
The addition of the new datacentre assets will greatly expand Equinix’s global platform for enterprises by adding new markets and Fortune 1000 enterprise customers. It expands capacity in existing markets, such as Atlanta, Denver, Miami, New York, São Paulo, Seattle and Silicon Valley, and it provides a platform for the future expansion of the acquired datacentres.
The Network Access Point of the Americas facility in Miami is a key interconnection point and will become a strategic hub and gateway for Equinix customer deployments servicing Latin America. Combined with the Verizon datacentres in Bogotá and the NAP do Brasil in São Paulo, it will strategically position Equinix in the growing Latin American market.
The NAP of the Capital Region is a highly secure campus focused on government agency customers, strengthening Equinix as a platform of choice for government services and service providers. Approximately 250 Verizon employees, primarily in the operations functions of the acquired datacentres, will become Equinix employees.
Steve Smith, President and CEO Equinix said, “This unique opportunity complements and extends Equinix’s strategy to expand our global platform. It enables us to enhance cloud and network density to continue to attract enterprises, while expanding our presence in the Americas. The new assets will bring hundreds of new customers to Platform Equinix while establishing a presence in new markets and expanding our footprint in existing key metros. The deal will also provide significant value for shareholders as the proposed transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to our adjusted funds from operations per share upon close.”
Karl Strohmeyer, President Americas Equinix said: “This deal is a significant win for our existing customers, who will gain access to new locations, ecosystems and partners. It is also a win for the new companies joining Equinix, as they will be able to leverage Equinix’s global footprint and unique interconnection services. At Equinix, companies can architect a globally consistent platform within local metros, keeping their critical data and processing capabilities as close as possible to the digital edge and end-users.”
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