Equinix has completed its acquisition of 29 data centers and their operations from Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ). The U.S. $3.6 billion all cash transaction includes over 1,000 customers, of which over 600 are net new, and approximately three million gross square feet of data centre space, accelerating Equinix’s ability to help companies extend their IT operations to the digital edge through the interconnection of people, locations, clouds and data.
The acquisition of these strategic facilities further broadens Equinix’s capabilities by: strengthening interconnection density on the Equinix global platform; accelerating business relationships in the government and energy sectors; and supporting Equinix’s enterprise offering.
Additionally, it adds three new markets (Bogot?, Culpeper and Houston) and provides additional capacity and the opportunity for expansion in markets where Equinix currently has a presence, including Atlanta, Denver, Miami, New York, S?o Paulo, Seattle and Silicon Valley.
Spread across 15 cities in North and Latin America, the new assets bring Equinix's total global footprint to over 175 International Business Exchange TM (IBX®) data centers across 44 markets and approximately 17 million gross square feet.
Steve Smith, Equinix CEO, comments: “As the technological shift to digital is transforming large sections of society and the global economy, companies are re-architecting their IT infrastructure to thrive in this new environment. They are moving from traditional centralized infrastructure to a distributed model that keeps data closer to the customers, partners and employees using it. With this significant expansion of Equinix’s globally consistent footprint, our platform is even more valuable to companies that are leveraging this new model of interconnection at the digital edge.”
Of the over 1,000 customers in the 29 acquired data centres, more than 600 are net new to Equinix, including Fortune 1000 companies and federal and local government entities. Verizon will become a substantially larger customer following the close of the transaction and will remain a key partner of Equinix.
The Miami NAP of the Americas (“NOTA”) (MI1) facility is a key interconnection point that will serve as a strategic hub and gateway for Equinix customer deployments servicing Latin America. As the fourth largest Internet exchange point in the U.S., it hosts the termination points of 15 subsea cable systems and more than 120 global networks interconnecting to approximately 150 countries. Combined with the newly acquired data centres in Bogot? and S?o Paulo, and Equinix’s substantial existing presence in Brazil, MI1 will strategically position Equinix in the growing Latin American market.
The Culpeper, Virginia facilities (CU1, CU2, CU3 and CU4) represent one of the most secure and technologically sophisticated data centre campuses in the eastern U.S. Designed to meet the highest government standards, these IBX data centres accelerate Equinix’s relationships in the government sector, strengthening Equinix as a platform of choice for government services and service providers.
