Major CRE Investors Jockeying To Buy Global Switch In $10B Deal
Three rival investors are near the finish line in bidding to be the new owner of data center specialist Global Switch Holdings, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The current owners are Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. and Avic Trust Co.
The potential buyers include EQT AB, KKR & Co. and PAG. The three are the finalists in what could be a deal that values Global Switch at as much as $10B.
All the suitors are major investors worldwide. KKR has about $491B in assets under management, while EQT has about $100B and PAG has roughly $50B. All of them own billions in real estate.
The data center industry has seen a wave of consolidations in recent years.
“I see that from both the real estate brokerage community as well as the investment banking community — that consolidation across the industry will continue. It’s not ending," Databank Executive Vice President Justin Puccion told Bisnow earlier this year.
Global Switch owns and operates 13 data centers in Europe and Asia Pacific. The company reported $297M in earnings in 2021, a 5.8% increase from the previous year.
This summer, London-based Global Switch confirmed that it was considering a sale, having tapped a number of investment banks to explore any potential deal. But the process has been a long one. More than a year ago, similar reports were circulating about a Global Switch sale.
