Antin Infrastructure Partners has completed the acquisition of UK data center firm Pulsant. Antin acquired Pulsant from Scottish Equity Partners and Oak Hill Capital who have owned the data center firm since 2014. None of the companies disclosed the terms of the deal. Pulsant operates 10 data centers across the UK, and it offers cloud, networking, and colocation services to its customers.
CEO of Pulsant, Rob Coupland, commented that the Company is looking forward to what the partnership with Antin will deliver. He also noted that the investment with Antin would help Pulsant continue focusing on colocation and hybrid cloud while also ensuring that reliable, scalable, and high-capacity coverage is available to businesses across the UK. Antin also said the Company would work with Pulsant’s management team to identify and work on a growth strategy that involves more investment.
Antin Infrastructure Partners announced today that it has acquired Pulsant, one of the leading nationwide providers of data centre and cloud infrastructure in the UK.
Pulsant owns and operates a portfolio of 10 data centres across seven cities in the UK. It provides essential data centre and cloud infrastructure, including colocation, private cloud, and network connectivity to a loyal base of over 1,000 private enterprise and public sector customers.
Demand for UK data centre and cloud infrastructure is expected to continue growing significantly in the coming years. This growth is underpinned by fundamental macro trends including increased outsourcing of IT and data infrastructure ̶ particularly among UK regional businesses ̶ and enables more secure and cost-efficient storage and processing of data. These trends have been further accelerated by the pandemic as companies and organizations look to overcome the common barriers to digital transformation by accessing reliable and scalable IT and data infrastructure.
Following completion of the acquisition, Antin will work with Pulsant’s experienced management team, led by CEO Rob Coupland and CFO Brad Petzer, to implement a clear growth strategy underpinned by further investment to continue developing the strong existing platform and network footprint.
Simon Söder, Partner at Antin Infrastructure Partners, said: “The pandemic has further reinforced the importance of reliable and flexible infrastructure for connectivity, storage and processing of data given the prevalence of remote working and as more businesses shift to cloud-based solutions. Through its network of regional data centres, Pulsant is uniquely placed to support businesses across the UK with high quality flexible data centre and cloud infrastructure solutions."
Rob Coupland, Chief Executive Officer at Pulsant, commented: “We thank Oak Hill Capital and Scottish Equity Partners for their support to date. In partnership with Antin, we now look forward to delivering on the considerable potential we see over the coming years,driven by our cloud and edge capabilities, our regional presence and our ability to deliver customised solutions.”
Mark Crosbie, Managing Partner of Antin Infrastructure Partners, added: “We are delighted to support Pulsant’s management team in the next stage of the company’s development.Rob and Brad have a combined wealth of leadership expertise in the data centre and cloud markets and we look forward to supporting Pulsant with further capital to enable it to meet the growing demand for its offering."
Pulsant was advised by Jefferies International Limited (financial adviser) and Ropes & Gray LLP (legal counsel).
Antin Infrastructure Partners was advised by RBC Capital Markets and Greenhill & Co International LLP (financial advisers), Goodwin Procter (UK) LLP (legal counsel) and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (financing legal counsel).
