Equinix acquires Australian data centre provider Metronode
Deal gives Equinix 15 international business exchange data centres nationwide
American multinational firm Equinix is expanding with the acquisition of Australian data centre provider Metronode.
The deal gives Equinix 15 international business exchange (IBX) data centres nationwide. It increases its operations in Sydney and Melbourne, and provides a presence in four new markets: Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane. About 60 employees will join the Equinix team in Asia-Pacific as part of the acquisition.
The closure follows an agreement Equinix made with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in December 2017 to acquire all the equity interests in the Metronode group of companies in an all-cash transaction for AU$1.03 billion ($803 million).
Samuel Lee, president of Equinix Asia-Pacific, says the deal “ensures Equinix will continue to strengthen its leadership position in the Asia-Pacific region and support our ongoing global expansion while further enabling Australia’s digital economy”.
To justify this purchase, the firm cites new joint research from Microsoft and IDC, which says digital transformation could add as much as AU$45 billion ($35 billion) to Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2021. It wants to tap into this massive market via its expanded Platform Equinix, which is used for digital business.
In terms of other stats, Equinix has plenty to offer.
It says the Metronode assets add more than 860,000 square feet (80,000 square metres) of land, 90% of which is owned, to the portfolio of Equinix. These sites add approximately 215,000 square feet (20,000 square metres) of gross colocation space in Australia.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Equinix now has 40 data centres and extends its global footprint to 200 data centres across 52 markets.
