Australia’s MetroNode hosting company has been acquired by Equinix for $792mn. 100 % held by the Canadian Ontario Teachers Pension Plan currently, MetroNode was previously part of the NextGen Group. When the ownership of NextGen changed in 2016, OTPP retained MetroNode (NextGen became part of Vocus Communications)
OTPP has now agreed to sell MetroNode to Equinix (Ontario Teachers’ Agrees to Sell Metronode to Equinix Inc.) in an all-cash transaction, expecting to complete the deal in the first half of 2018.
MetroNode operates 10 data centres in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Illawarra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. These will complement the Equinix nodes already present in Sydney and Melbourne, allowing metro-level resiliency. It also provides Equinix with additional regional capacity as well. MetroNode also brings land to deal, with potential for growth up to 80,000m2.
Equinix’s press release (Equinix to Extend Market Leadership in Australia through Acquisition of Metronode) is bullish about the growth required in the Asia Pacific hosting market, quoting a 69% growth in the Government & Education centre alone.
“Growth and expansion is a continued focus for Equinix as we strive to bring together market leaders and innovators on a single, global interconnection platform. The acquisition of Metronode helps Equinix to accelerate the expansion of our global footprint and support our customers in the region as they move their infrastructure to the edge, closer to their customers and partners.” – Samuel Lee, President, Asia-Pacific region, Equinix
“As well as expanding our national footprint with Metronode’s existing sites, this acquisition also enables us to build out sites that are currently in development to further expand our presence in Australia. This will enable us to continue to deliver the level of excellence and interconnection that our customers expect, and signifies our commitment to the region in supporting the growth of digital businesses. We look forward to welcoming the Metronode team into the Equinix family.” – Jeremy Deutsch, Managing Director, Australia, Equinix
“With this acquisition, companies operating across Australia will have access to the largest network of highly interconnected data centers in the world. Metronode is excited to become part of an industry-leading company and further help our customers to build their digital infrastructure and drive competitive advantage in the digital age.” – David Yuile, CEO, Metronode
