Private equity firm KKR and fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have inked a $15 bn all-cash deal to acquire CyrusOne, a global data centre operator.
The transaction value includes the assumption of debt, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Dallas-headquartered CyrusOne is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that designs, builds and operates data centres. The company has 50 data centres across North America, South America and Europe, which serve more than 1,000 customers.
The firm has been connected with sale rumours for a couple of years. Bloomberg reported in 2019 that three investment firms were vying to take over the firm.
In January 2020, the firm announced layoffs, which were followed by significant changes at management level. CyrusOne has seen four different faces in the CEO role in the last two years.
In September, the idea to take the firm private surfaced again after alleged investor pressure to address the firm's "sluggish financial performance".
KKR has been expanding its data centre credentials over the last two years. In May 2020, it committed $1 bn to back a new hyperscale builder, Global Technical Realty (GTR), with an initial focus on EMEA markets.
This June, GTR inked a deal with Segro to develop a data centre campus in Slough, its first investment in the UK, and unveiled a project in Tel Aviv.
Last week, KKR's private equity peer Blackstone made its first direct data centre investment in Europe, snapping up the Harbour Exchange data centre in the UK for £196.5 mln (€230 mln), a net initial yield of 3.99%.
Global law firm Dentons, as part of a legal team led by Kirkland & Ellis, represented KKR and GIP.
