Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Equinix have partnered to acquire Nordiic data centre operator atNorth from Partners Group in a deal valuing the firm at an enterprise value of $4bn ($3.4bn).
CPP Investments is investing approximately $1.6bn to own a 60% controlling interest in atNorth alongside digital infrastructure company Equinix, which will own the remaining 40% stake.
To fund the transaction and subsequent growth, CPP Investments and Equinix said they have secured a $4.2bn financing arrangement. The package is backed by a group of lenders from Europe and Canada.
Since acquiring atNorth in 2022, Partners Group has built the company into a pan-Nordic platform with eight active data centres. The platform, which is active in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, plans to expand its capacity using 1GW of secured power.
The acquisition of atNorth expands the data centre footprint of CPP Investments in Europe and strengthens the long-standing partnership between the Canadian investor and Equinix. The latest deal follows a 2024 joint venture involving Singapore’s GIC to grow the Equinix xScale data centre programme.
Maximilian Biagosch, senior managing director and global head of real assets, CPP Investments, said: “This transaction builds on our long-standing and highly productive relationship with Equinix. It demonstrates our conviction and commitment to the data centre sector, where demand continues to accelerate, fuelled by continued strong enterprise demand as well as cloud and AI adoption.
“The Nordics are an attractive market for data centre growth and the opportunity to partner with Equinix on this acquisition allows us to deploy capital at scale into a high-quality platform, helping us deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”
Bruce Owen, president, EMEA, Equinix, said: “The scalable sites of atNorth are very complementary to Equinix’s connectivity services and global footprint. Combined with our joint focus on sustainability, this acquisition is expected to enhance our ability to help customers unlock the full potential of the Nordics’ expanding digital landscape.”
Ismail Afara, member of management, infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, said: “We have implemented a truly entrepreneurial value creation plan with atNorth, capitalising on a period of unprecedented growth in the European data centre industry.
“We thank atNorth’s management team for their remarkable partnership on this journey. The Company’s vision is more critical than ever: to offer more compute for a better world.”
Esther Peiner, partner, head of infrastructure, Partners Group, said data centres are businesses driven by scale. She explained that the firm utilises a platform-building strategy across its portfolio, beginning with a smaller base and using an expansion toolkit to grow.
Peiner added: “Whilst the sale of atNorth marks a successful control exit from our data centre portfolio, we remain thematically focused on data centre assets across the globe.”
Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth, said: “Our strategy remains firmly rooted in the Nordics, and we will continue to operate independently under the atNorth brand, preserving our dedication to the communities where we operate and the culture and values that have defined our success to date.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
