Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) is furthering its collaboration with the global digital infrastructure company, Equinix, through joint acquisition of the atNorth data centre portfolio, stretching across five Nordic nations. CPP Investments will contribute roughly USD $1.6 billion to secure a 60 per cent controlling interest in atNorth, which encompasses eight operational data centres and three high-density colocation facilities now in development.
“The Nordics are an attractive market for data centre growth and the opportunity to partner with Equinix on this acquisition allows us to deploy capital at scale into a high-quality platform,” says Maximilian Biagosch, senior managing director and global head of real assets with CPP Investments.
The two investors are already part of a three-way partnership with the sovereign wealth fund, GIC, focused on developing hyperscale data facilities in the United States. The atNorth deal aligns with CPP Investments’ data centre strategy and augments publicly traded Equinix’s presence in the Nordics, where it currently operates eight data centres in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.
The new acquisitions will continue to operate under the atNorth brand, which is headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, with presence in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The data centre provider has 800 megawatts of installed or in-development capacity, and has power agreements in place to enable an additional 1 gigawatt of capacity and a move into hyperscale services. Its existing portfolio applies renewable energy resources, heat reuse technology and design efficiencies to reduce environmental impacts — also in step with Equinix’s renewable energy footprint for its European operations and target for net-zero emissions globally by 2040.
“Combined with our joint focus on sustainability, this acquisition is expected to enhance our ability to help customers unlock the full potential of the Nordics’ expanding digital landscape,” maintains Bruce Owen, president of Equinix in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Asia) market. “We are delighted to partner with CPP Investments, whose long-term track record of investing in the sector is highly complementary to Equinix’s connectivity services.”
“I’m extremely proud to announce the next step in our chapter, welcoming this investment from CPP Investments and Equinix, which will enable access to capital, global enterprise and hyperscale relationships, and supply chain strength required to scale at pace,” says Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, atNorth’s chief executive officer.
The USD $4.2 billion agreement covers both the acquisition and capital for future expansion, with underwriting advanced by Canadian and European lenders. It will be finalized subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
