US$575m acquisition of Verne Global (data centre portfolio)
About the client:
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising US$156bn of assets
About the transaction:
Akur advised Ardian infrastructure as buy-side financial advisor in the acquisition of 100% of the data centre assets from Digital 9 Infrastructure plc. A complex cross-border transaction including data centres in Iceland, Finland and the UK, with a clear focus on highly sustainable data centre provision and favoured by AI, machine learning and large language model applications.
Akur advised Ardian across the entirety of the transactions and in the negotiations with Digital 9 and its investment Manager, Triple Point, including when the process became competitive.
The transaction incorporated a significant earn-out structure for the benefit of Ardian which reduced the upfront cash payment, as well as the business plan risk.
The transaction has provided Ardian with a platform to deliver its ambitious data centre expansion plan across the Nordics.
LXi REIT plc was a closed-ended REIT investment company, listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of c. £2 bn (as at 31 Jan 2023), invested in a diversified portfolio of UK commercial property assets. The Company was acquired by LondonMetric Property plc in March 2024.
Digital 9 invests in digital infrastructure assets to deliver a reliable, functioning internet. Its assets comprise scalable platforms and technologies including subsea fibre systems, data centres, terrestrial fibre, and wireless infrastructure. D9 is investing in those critical digital assets comprising the “backbone” of the internet.
About the transaction:
Akur acted as sole financial adviser to D9 on this equity fundraise.
Digital 9 invests in digital infrastructure assets to deliver a reliable, functioning internet. Its assets comprise scalable platforms and technologies including subsea fibre systems, data centres, terrestrial fibre, tower infrastructure and small cell networks (including 5G).
D9 is investing in those critical digital assets comprising the “backbone” of the internet.
About the transaction:
Akur advised D9 as sole M&A adviser in the acquisition of 100% of Volta Data Centres for £45m. Volta wholly owns and operates a premier data centre facility based in central London, providing co-location services. This acquisition delivers on D9’s metro edge data centre strategy, identifying facilities located in or near urban centres offering robust connectivity to customers which require low latency solutions. The consideration was satisfied by 100% in cash.
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