UK-based data centre developer and operator Kao Data has received a £120m-£130m cash injection from New Zealand-based Infratil.
Kao Data, a portfolio company of Noe Group-owned Goldacre, currently owns a 15-acre data centre campus, built on the site of Sir Charles Kao’s pioneering discovery of the fibre optic cable in 1966 between London and Cambridge, but is in talks to expand its portfolio with the acquisition of two more UK data centres with a long-term anchor lease from a large financial services business
The investment from Infratil, which will take a 40% stake in Kao Data, will help fund the acquisition.
David Bloom, founding partner at Goldacre, said: “This is another landmark moment for Kao Data, both for the continued growth of the firm and for the development of the wider data centre industry. We saw immense potential in Kao Data back in 2014 and are proud to see the team continue to go from strength to strength, transitioning into a widely respected market leader.
“Given the ever-growing importance of the data industry, we look forward to working with Infratil and our existing partners to create further opportunities to accelerate the emergence of state-of-the-art infrastructure and enter new markets around the globe.”
Infratil chief executive Jason Boyes, added: “With global demand for connectivity continuing to rise, this is an excellent opportunity to expand our digital infrastructure portfolio and build on our successful data centre platform investment in Australia and New Zealand. We were an early mover into this sector, acquiring CDC Data Centres in 2016, which has delivered exceptional performance.
“Kao Data provides a compelling strategic growth opportunity for Infratil. It is a rare opportunity to be able to invest in one of the fastest growing data centre markets in the world, alongside blue chip partners. We will bring our sector experience alongside our partners’ capability and relationships to continue to scale up this business, with the aim of delivering a sizeable multi-site platform.”
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