Digital infrastructure company Equinix has formed a partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC to invest more than $15bn (€13.6bn) in US data centres over time.
CPP Investments and GIC will each hold a 37.5% equity interest in the joint venture alongside Equinix which will own 25%.
Equinix said each partner has made equity commitments and the joint venture plans to leverage debt to increase the total investable capital to over $15bn over time.
With the capital raised through the joint venture, Equinix said it plans to acquire land for building xScale facilities on multiple campuses exceeding 100MW in the US.
Equinix already has a relationship with GIC, having previously partnered on xScale projects in Asia, the Americas and Europe. This agreement represents the first partnership between Equinix and CPP Investments.
Adaire Fox-Martin, CEO and President, Equinix, said: “As the world’s leading companies build out their infrastructure to support key workloads such as artificial intelligence, they require the combination of large-scale data center footprints optimised for AI training and interconnection nodes for the most efficient inferencing.
“Our xScale and IBX offerings are uniquely positioned to address this business need, enabling companies to realise the powerful potential of AI.”
Goh Chin Kiong, CIO of real estate at GIC, said: “GIC’s capital and scale, paired with Equinix’s operational expertise, has driven meaningful value across our investments together.
“Through this joint venture, we look forward to providing the funding needed to develop state-of-the-art digital infrastructure across the US alongside our likeminded partner, CPP Investments.”
Max Biagosch, senior MD, global head of real assets and head of Europe for CPP Investments, said: “CPP Investments has invested in data centres for several years and we have developed strong expertise in this space.
“This investment will help meet the increasing demand for data centers driven by rapid technological advancements and marks a significant step forward in our broader data center strategy. We are pleased to partner with Equinix and GIC to deliver strong long-term risk-adjusted returns for the CPP fund.”
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