Berkshire exits South African data centre company
Digital Realty – the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions – announced the successful completion of its previously announced agreement to acquire a majority interest in Teraco – a carrier-neutral data centre and interconnection services provider in South Africa – from a consortium of investors, including Berkshire Partners and Permira, in a transaction valuing Teraco at approximately $3.5 billion.
The acquisition of Teraco adds South Africa to Digital Realty’s three existing markets on the continent, including Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria. The strategic importance of these four markets has been enhanced by the recent and ongoing implementation of new subsea cable networks encircling Africa.
”We are very excited to complete this transformative transaction that positions Digital Realty as the premier data centre and connectivity provider on the high-growth African continent,” says A. William Stein, chief executive officer, Digital Realty. ”Today’s milestone gives us significant regional scale and access to a premier, high-quality portfolio in Africa’s largest market, enhancing our ability to serve growing customer demand for connectivity in the region. We’re thrilled to strengthen our global platform and deepen our commitment to investment in Africa, as we capitalise on the tremendous opportunity in the region.”
”Teraco has made significant progress in achieving our strategic objectives, including improving the connectivity and accessibility of our data centres, in supporting the rapid digital transformation in the region,” says Jan Hnizdo, chief executive officer, Teraco. ”Africa is poised to remain a high growth, high-demand area for data centre solutions and our combined, diversified platform will further enable us to support our customers in the pan-Africa region and around the world.”
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