Deutsche Beteiligungs AG acquires new data centre operator

• Newly-established company offers highly secure, energy-efficient data centres to a wide range of customers
• Third Long-Term Investment
• Market growth enables further organic and inorganic development

Frankfurt/Main, 21 March 2022. Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) invests in two data centres located in Hamburg: it is acquiring both akquinet Rechenzentrum “Leuchtturm” GmbH & Co. KG, which already has a fully utilised data centre in Hamburg, as well as akquinet cubit GmbH, which is set to build another modern high-performance data centre in the city. The sellers are three private individuals and akquinet AG (Hamburg). Both data centres will be brought together under joint management by a newly-established company, forming the basis for a new data centre operator that is set to grow through organic growth as well as through acquisitions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the “DACH” region). DBAG is acquiring the two data centres in the form of a Long-Term Investment, envisaging equity investment of up to 23 million euros in the full acquisition of the two companies. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. DBAG also invests in akquinet AG, a German provider of comprehensive IT services. akquinet AG will be sold in the course of a management buyout; please refer to the separate press release for details.

DBAG finances Long-Term Investments exclusively from its own balance sheet, not alongside a DBAG fund; the investment horizon of a Long-Term Investment extends beyond the term of a private equity fund. The new investment is the third Long-Term Investment for the portfolio.

The two data centres are known as co-location data centres and are used by multiple customers to run their own servers in a suitable, secure environment. The existing data centre is working to capacity, with predominantly long-term rental contracts. Increased demand from existing customers forms the basis for the expected utilisation of the new data centre from 2023, with additional customers already signed up. The new data centre will feature state-of-the-art security, providing extremely high levels of security and availability. Energy efficiency is a key priority. The existing data centre uses electricity exclusively from renewable sources: the surplus thermal energy generated by the servers is used to heat a sports hall. It is the first co-location data centre to be awarded the “Blue Angel” environmental label by the German Federal Environment Agency. Energy consumption is about one-third below average, and further improvements are being sought for the new data centre being developed.

Due to increased digitalisation of more and more areas of the economy and life in general, the demand for data centre capacity is increasing enormously – it is expected to triple between 2020 and 2025 alone. Demand is also driven by the regional economic structure: for critical services, customers tend to prefer using data centres nearby. Hamburg is considered an attractive market – due, in part, to the city's economic focus on e-commerce and logistics. Hamburg is also one of the main media and IT locations in Germany. The two data centres, each with a capacity of two megawatts, will account for around ten per cent of the market in Hamburg.

“Data centres, which in most cases have long-term leases, offer very predictable revenues,” explained Tom Alzin, member of DBAG’s Board of Management, when discussing the transaction, “and because of their investment profile, they are very well suited to being long-term investments.” He added that “the growing market offers potential for organic as well as inorganic growth, which we want to exploit with the new data centre operator.”