Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has acquired a minority stake in GlobalConnect, a digital infrastructure company owned by investment firm EQT.

The EQT Infrastructure III and IV funds will remain the largest owner of GlobalConnect following the sale of the stake to the sovereign investor.

Headquartered in Stockholm, GlobalConnect is a fibre-based data communication and data centre services provider to enterprises, public institutions, and consumers in Northern Europe.

The company was created in 2019 through the combination of four independent fibre platforms in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, owned by EQT Infrastructure.

Carl Sjölund, a partner within EQT Infrastructure’s advisory team, said: “GlobalConnect is a perfect example of EQT Infrastructure’s strategy to back companies that provide essential services to society.

“As data usage and internet traffic continue to increase, it is vital that the underlying digital infrastructure keeps up to meet future demand. EQT Infrastructure remains committed to GlobalConnect’s ambition to increase societies’ digital connectivity and we are happy to welcome Mubadala to come along on this journey.”

Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, real estate and infrastructure investments CEO at Mubadala Investment Company, said: “We are pleased to be investing with our long-term partner, EQT, in GlobalConnect. As a responsible investor, we highly prize those deals that enable us to invest in high-conviction assets and sectors for value creation and to deliver a positive impact on communities.

Investing in digital infrastructure allows us to achieve both of these goals. We look forward to working with GlobalConnect and EQT to capitalise on growth opportunities in data centre and fibre-to-the-home assets, and to support Europe’s digital infrastructure development, a vital enabler of digital inclusion and socioeconomic progress.”

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