BlackRock is acquiring a 50.1% in a German data centre development and operating company owned by German ulility company The Mainova Group.
BlackRock, investing on behalf of a fund managed by its diversified infrastructure business, has acquired the interest in digital infrastructure company Mainova WebHouse for an unspecified amount.
Both partners plan to contribute the necessary capital to the company for its growth.
In addition to a data centre already under construction in Frankfurt’s Ostend, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2024, Mainova WebHouse’s pipeline already includes data centre projects with a total IT load of over 200MW.
Michael Maxelon, CEO of Mainova AG, said: “We are pleased that we have been able to gain a partner in BlackRock that will allow us to further develop the data centre location in the Rhine-Main metropolitan region in the long term and, above all, sustainably.
“With our strong partnership, we are further pushing digitalisation and strengthening value creation in the region. With their specific focus on sustainability, Mainova WebHouse’s data centres support the city of Frankfurt and our customers in implementing their climate protection goals.”
Mark Florian, global head of diversified infrastructure at BlackRock, said: “We are working together to ensure that customers focused on the energy transition can benefit from sustainably designed data centres based on a sustainable energy supply. In this way, we are helping to make the Frankfurt region one of the world’s leading data hubs.”
Mainova WebHouse’s managing director Oliver Schiebel, said: “The support of Mainova and BlackRock will allow us to significantly expand our presence in Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region in the future and to meet the demand for sustainable data centres.”
Dirk Schmitz, country head of BlackRock in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe, said: “Digitisation is a key success factor for the German economy.
“A sustainable infrastructure for data storage and processing in the context of the energy transition requires considerable investments in this country. We are pleased to be able to provide our customers with access to this investment in the Rhine-Main area.”
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