The Future of Data Centre Investment

Table of Contents

Methodology 
Executive Summary 
Introduction 

Part 1 - The reasons for Private Equity investment in Data Centres
The attractiveness of Data Centres for Private Equity investors
The types of Data Centre Private Equity investments worldwide
Risks and reward for Private Equity Data Centre investment

Part 2 - Examples of new PE & SWI investment in Data Centres
Selected global investment by PE & SWI - GIC’s investments
Investments in new markets & companies worldwide
Investments in existing Data Centre Providers

Part 3 - The future Data Centre market for Private Equity investors
New developments in Private Equity Data Centre investment
A forecast for Private Equity Data Centre investment - from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025
The key trends in Private Equity Data Centre investment

Conclusions
Appendix 1 - A list of companies mentioned in the report

List of Figures
Figure 1 - A table showing Private Equity Data Centre growth compared with market size by key country market in MW
Figure 2 - A table showing the Vantage Data Center facilities planned in the Europe & Asia regions
Figure 3 - A picture showing the initial construction of the Vantage Data Centers Johannesburg campus
Figure 4 - A table showing the planned Scala Data Centre deployments in Brazil and Latin America
Figure 5 - A table showing examples of the private equity investments in Data Centres in Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Ireland & Italy
Figure 6 - A picture showing a proposed Kyoto Data Centre to be developed by the CPPIB Mitsui fund
Figure 7 - A table showing a list of recent Data Centre investments in Asia and Europe
Figure 8 - A table showing the key country markets to attract private equity investment, in millions of USD as of the end of August 2021
Figure 9 - A chart showing the Private Equity DC investment by Country Market in millions of USD
Figure 10 - A table showing the forecast growth in private equity funded Data Centre infrastructure from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025 - in millions of USD pa
Figure 11 - A table showing the EdgeCore Internet Real Estate Data Centre facilities (USA)
Figure 12 - A graphic showing a map of the proposed xScale Data Centre investments worldwide (excluding the Americas)
Figure 13 - A table showing the SpaceDC investments made by GIC Private Ltd
Figure 14 - A table showing some of the key Data Centre facilities planned by STT GDC worldwide
Figure 15 - A picture showing the DigiPlex Fetsund Data Centre facility
Figure 16 - A table showing the Data Centre facilities controlled by IPI PartnersFigure 17 - A map showing the location of the NorthC Data Centers (Netherlands & Germany)
Figure 18 - A picture showing the proposed Gaw Capital Partners Data Centre at Nongsa Digital Park, Indonesia
Figure 19 - A picture showing the Teraco Data Environments campus at Isando (Johannesburg)
Figure 20 - A picture showing one of the proposed DCI Adelaide Data Centre facilities
Figure 21 - A table showing the Data Centre investments made by Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) -including the joint ventures with Digital Realty
Figure 22 - A chart showing the Data Centre stages of evolution worldwide (Brookfield Investment Partners)
Figure 23 - A picture showing the ChinData ChinaNorth Data Centre campus (H06) near Bejing 
Figure 24 - A picture showing the Verne Global Data Centre campus at Keflavik, Iceland
Figure 25 - A table showing the Digital Edge Data Centre investments worldwide
Figure 26 - A graphic showing the location of the PCCW Data Centres in the Asia Pacific
Figure 27 - A picture showing the proposed Vantage Data Center Melbourne MEL-1) campus
Figure 28 - A map & graphic showing the AtlasEdge Data Centre locations
Figure 29 - A table showing the key Data Centre facilities owned by Vantage Data Centers
Figure 30 - A picture showing the proposed EdgeConneX EDCBCN01 Barcelona Data Centre facility
Figure 31 - A picture showing the proposed GTR Slough Data Centre facility
Figure 32 - A table showing the planned GTR Data Centre facilities
Figure 33 - A table showing the PDG XL Data Centre facilities in Indonesia
Figure 34 - A picture showing the proposed PDG JC2 Indonesia Data Centre facility
Figure 35 - A picture showing the proposed Yondr Data Centre facility at Slough, UK
Figure 36 - A table providing details of the investments made by Yondr Group Data Centers
Figure 37 - A table summarising the major investments in Data Centres by Private Equity groups in millions of USD - up to the end of October 2021
Figure 38 - A table showing the existing & proposed xScale Data Centre locations worldwide
Figure 39 - A picture showing the ID02 (Indonesia) Data Centre campus from SpaceDC
Figure 40 - A picture showing the KIO Networks Data Centre facility (QRO-1) at Queretaro, Mexico
Figure 41 - A map showing the locations of the UK Proximity Data Centre facilities
Figure 42 - A picture showing the Datum Datacenter FRN-1 facility in Farnborough UK
Figure 43 - A picture showing the Kao Data facility in Harlow, Essex, UK
Figure 44 - A picture showing the proposed DUB20 Data Centre facility located at Arklow, County Wicklow
Figure 45 - A picture showing the Echelon Data Centres LCY10 facility in the London Docklands
Figure 46 - A picture showing part of the proposed Sines 4.0 Data Centre campus project
Figure 47 - A table showing the key Data Centre developments in new markets
Figure 48 - A picture showing the PCCW Malaysia (Cyberjaya-1 (CJ-1)) Data Centre facility
Figure 49 - A map showing the proposed land purchase & Data Centres in the Navi Mumbai area
Figure 50 - A table showing the key Private Equity Data Centre developments being made in new markets
Figure 51 - A table showing the key new Private Equity Data Centre developments in existing City Metro markets
Figure 52 - A table showing a forecast for Private Equity & SWF investments in Data Centres from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025 in millions of USD per annum
Figure 53 - A chart showing a forecast for Private Equity & SWF investments in Data Centres from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025 in millions of USD per annum
Figure 54 - A map showing the MapleTree Investment Trust (MIT) owned and acquired Data Centre facilities in the USA
Figure 55 - A table summarising the growth in Private Equity DC capacity in MW - China
Figure 56 - A table summarising the growth in Private Equity DC capacity in MW - India
Figure 57 - A table summarising the growth in Private Equity DC capacity in MW - Indonesia
Figure 58 - A table summarising the growth in Private Equity DC capacity in MW - Ireland
Figure 59 - A table summarising the growth in Private Equity DC capacity in MW - Japan
Figure 60 - A chart showing the impact of new private equity investment on new Data Centre power forecast in 2022 for India, Indonesia, Ireland & Portugal - in MW
Figure 61 - A table showing the impact of new private equity investment on new Data Centre power forecast in 2022 for India, Indonesia, Ireland & Portugal - in MW
Figure 62 - A table showing a list of companies mentioned in this report
Figure 63 - A table showing the exchange rates converted into USD $1 used in the report

Executive Summary

The report reveals the massive investments being made in Data Centres by Private Equity investors worldwide, with some markets - including Brazil, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Japan, Poland and Portugal - being transformed by the large Hyperscale Data Centre investments being made by PE investors.

This latest research reveals that that Private Equity (PE) & Sovereign Wealth Investors (SWI) provide new impetus to hyperscale Data Centre investments and have become key players in the introduction of new facilities and also the acquisition of existing Data Centres.

Additionally established Data Centre Providers (including Digital Realty & Equinix) are using partnerships with PE & SWI funds to fund entry into new markets (as in South America & Brazil) or provide investment in dedicated Hyperscale Data Centres (as xScale Data Centres).

The Private Equity & Sovereign Wealth Investors & Data Centre Investment report concludes that:

i)  Private Equity providers investing in Data Centres are now doing so on a large scale. The scale of the Data Centre investments can be huge - running into billions of USD for a large campus-based facility - such as the Start Up campus (Sines 4.0) in Portugal at USD $3.97 billion when complete.

2) The number of new Private Equity investors is increasing. Real estate companies such as Lendlease are creating joint ventures with an SWF (Sovereign Wealth Fund) or more often via a private equity partner to spread the cost and risk of large Hyperscale Data Centres investment in new markets.

3) Private Equity investors now account for a large share of new Data Centre developments. In a number of Country Markets the analyst finds that Private Equity investors account for the majority of new Data Centre developments - for example boosting Data Centre power capacity by 6 times in Portugal, 1.9 times in Ireland, almost 1.5 times in Brazil, almost 1.2 times in Indonesia and over 0.8 times in Poland.

iii)  Private Equity funds are investing in speculative Data Centre developments in new markets: It is significant that Private Equity funds are willing to invest in large-scale Hyperscale facilities in relatively new markets (including India, Indonesia & Japan) with new power per facility of 50 MW to 100 MW or more - whilst established Data Centre Providers typically invest in their existing Metros as a lower risk strategy.

iv) Most new Data Centres that are being built in new Metro markets are being built by private equity investors: Private equity funds are focusing on markets where there is a shortage of high-quality Hyperscale Data Centre capacity (including Japan, Poland, Brazil, Indonesia & Portugal) with new space being built outside the main capital city area, taking advantage of lower land costs - in effect private equity funds can take more risk on a longer time-frame than the established Data Centre Provider.

v) The Data Centre industry is set for further forecast growth as more private equity investors enter the space: The analyst forecasts that the amount of private equity Data Centre investment is forecast to increase from USD $8 billion up to USD $13.3 billion from the end of 2021 to the end of 2025 - an overall growth of 66% over the 4 year period. Private Equity funds have identified the Data Centre segment as able to generate above average growth from cloud & content users coupled with stable tenants (with low churn levels) and are attracted to those markets with low Hyperscale Data Centre penetration.

Private Equity companies

• Actis Capital
• Antin Infrastructure Partners
• Berkshire Partners, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners
• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners
• ChinData Group, Data9 Infrastructure
• Datasphere, DWS Group, DigitalBridge
• Digital Edge
• EQT Infrastructure
• Gaw Capital Partners
• Global Technical Realty (GTR)
• IPI Partners
• Piemonte Holding
• Princeton Digital Group (PDG)
• PRP

Data Centre Companies

• AtlasEdge Data Cetre
• ChinData Group Holdings
• Colt
• Data4
• Datum Datacenter
• Digital Realty
• DWS Group
• Echelon Data Centres
• Edge Connex
• EdgeCore Internet Real Estate
• EQT Infrastructure
• Equinix
• EverYondr
• Green Datacenters
• Kao Data
• Linxdatacenter
• Nabiax Data Centres
• NorthC Data Centres
• Pure Data Centers
• Sines 4.0 Digital
• Space DC
• STT GDC ICD
• ST Telemedia
• Stack Infrastructure
• Tamasek
• Telefonica
• Teraco Data Environment
• Vantage Data Centers
• XL Data Centres
• xScale Data Centres
• Yondr Group

Methodology

The analyst researches its reports typically within a three-month period. All of its reports are based on primary and secondary research including interviews with relevant companies/operators covered in the report. The analyst also draws on its extensive in-house database and its contacts in the field of telecommunications it has established since the company was launched in 2006.

The analyst has 26-years of experience in the field of telecoms pricing both mobile and fixed. They have a network of consultants as well as a multi-lingual research team, with languages spoken French, German, Polish and Spanish.