Canadian Data Centers Are Hot Acquisition Targets: Report

Canadian data centers have turned into acquisition magnets amid ongoing consolidation in the sector, according to Bloomberg.

Buyers are enticed by cheap power rates in Canada, and some U.S. investors are looking north in expanding their data center portfolios. In the past two years, major firms such as Digital Colony, an investment group focused on data centers, and colocation giant Equinix have acquired facilities in Canada.

For data center operators, power costs make a big difference in the overhead required to run a large facility.

Quebec has the cheapest electricity rates in Canada, according to Energy Hub, which tracks electricity prices. The province offers plentiful and relatively clean hydroelectric power, along with robust fiber networks in and around Montreal. Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud operate large data centers in Montreal.

Montreal is among the most active data center markets in North America, with 57 megawatts of capacity under construction, according to CBRE. Canada-based data center firms are consolidating as well. 

EStruxture, a major Canadian-owned data center provider, said that it will acquire eight data centers from Aptum Technologies, adding to its existing portfolio of six data centers in Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

EStruxture founder Todd Coleman told Bloomberg that he sees "tremendous opportunity" in Canada.

"Over the last five years, Canada's been on sale from a U.S. dollar perspective," he said.