Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) and Equinix announced a joint agreement to acquire Nordic data center operator atNorth from private equity firm Partners Group in a transaction valued at about $4 billion, the companies said in a joint statement on Friday.
Under the terms disclosed, CPP will commit roughly $1.6 billion to the deal and will hold a 60% controlling stake in the business. Equinix will own approximately 40% of the enterprise. The companies said the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Equinix’s adjusted funds from operations once it is completed.
atNorth currently operates eight data centers across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The operator also has several additional sites under development, reflecting ongoing regional expansion plans. Management has secured 1 gigawatt of power to support future growth and is planning a development pipeline of roughly 800 megawatts over the next five years as it positions to meet increasing demand related to artificial intelligence workloads in Europe.
Partners Group purchased the business in 2022 for an undisclosed sum and supported its growth across the Nordic region since that acquisition. The transaction marks a further step in the consolidation of digital infrastructure assets in Europe, with Equinix extending its presence and CPP increasing its exposure to data center investments.
Equinix, a California-based data center operator, has been pursuing aggressive expansion to capture rising demand for digital infrastructure. CPP has likewise been broadening its allocations to data-center assets as part of its investment strategy.
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