DIF Capital Partners has agreed to buy a US data-centre provider on behalf of its latest infrastructure fund.

DIF is investing an undisclosed sum to buy Tonaquint Data Centers on behalf of its DIF Core Infrastructure Fund III (DIF CIF III), a fund targeting mid-sized, core-plus infrastructure companies. Tonaquint’s management continues to hold a minority stake.

Tonaquint is a leading data-centre provider in the Mountain West region in the US. The company is mainly focusing on high-growth smaller markets which are not as well serviced by other major data centre operators.

DIF said the acquisition will enable Tonaquint to continue its growth, enhancing its existing facilities and expanding its service offering.

DIF data centre-operating adviser Michael DeVito will be joining the Tonaquint management team to further build out the company in North America.

Willem Jansonius, partner and head of CIF at DIF Capital Partners, said: “Given the rapid growth of the private-cloud market, Tonaquint’s product offering is right where the opportunities are. Now and in the years to come.

“Our investment will enable Tonaquint to further build towards a leading North American data-centre platform. The acquisition fits DIF’s ambition to further grow in the digital-infrastructure space in North America and beyond by investing in small to medium-sized businesses. That’s exactly why we already started expanding our capabilities and expertise in the sector a few years ago.”

Matt Hamlin, co-founder and CEO of Tonaquint said: “Working with the DIF team has been such a great experience. A very experienced team and a good strategic fit as they will be able to help our management team grow Tonaquint as we have envisioned in our overall business strategy.

“Our goals still remain the same: provide our customers with the best infrastructure and match it with the best client experience. That’s who we are.”

Philip Daley, co-founder and COO of Tonaquint, said: “Tonaquint’s ability to build and maintain quality data centres and cloud services is now enhanced by DIF’s ability to bring additional capital and expertise in digital infrastructure. We look forward to expanding our footprint and services throughout the US.”

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