BY Richard Summerfield
Data centre operator Switch Inc has agreed to be taken private by DigitalBridge Group in a deal worth $8.38bn.
Under the terms of the deal, DigitalBridge will acquire all outstanding common shares of Switch for $34.25 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $11bn, including the assumption of debt. The deal will be carried out by DigitalBridge Partners II, the value-added digital infrastructure equity strategy of the investment management platform of DigitalBridge, and an affiliate of global infrastructure investor IFM Investors.
The transaction, which was unanimously approved by a special committee of the Switch board of directors, is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to approval by Switch stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
“Today’s announcement is an important step towards our long-term vision for the growth and evolution of our company,” said Rob Roy, founder and chief executive of Switch. “Through this partnership we will be ideally positioned to continue to meet strong customer demand for Switch's environmentally sustainable Tier 5 data center infrastructure. Following our expansion into a Fifth Prime campus last year, and with our plan to construct more than 11 million additional square feet of capacity through 2030, Switch's strategic position has never been stronger. The combination of our advanced data center infrastructure, significant expansion capacity in our land bank, and a new partnership with experienced digital infrastructure investors lays a strong foundation for Switch's continued industry leading growth.”
“At DigitalBridge, we are building the world's leading global digital infrastructure investment platform, and this transaction allows us to partner with one of the industry's fastest growing and highest quality data center portfolios,” said Marc Ganzi, chief executive of DigitalBridge. “Rob and his team share our vision for the future of communications infrastructure, making us the ideal partner to scale their business both domestically and internationally to meet the exponentially rising demand from large enterprise customers looking for mission critical digital infrastructure. We are also pleased to partner with IFM Investors, one of the world's leading institutional infrastructure investors, to execute this compelling transaction.”
“IFM is excited to partner with DigitalBridge and Switch on this transaction,” said Kyle Mangini, global head of infrastructure at IFM. We consider Switch to be an excellent digital infrastructure business with strong potential. The company is a recognized industry leader with an impressive approach to ESG. Today's announcement reflects IFM’s strategy of investing in high quality infrastructure to protect and grow the long-term retirement savings of working people.”
News: DigitalBridge to buy data center owner Switch for $8.38 billion