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Equinix: Equinix partners with GIC to invest additional $3.9 billion in its Hyperscale Program

Jun 15, 2021 | Posted by Eric Bell

Equinix has announced that it has signed agreements for additional joint ventures with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, which will add $3.9 billion to expand its data center program.

The agreements come in the form of limited liability partnerships with GIC. The close, which is expected this year, will bring the xScale data center portfolio to more than $6.9 billion across 32 facilities across the globe. When fully built out, it is expected that these facilities will provide over 600 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

Speaking about the arrangement, Charles Meyers, CEO of Equinix, said: "For years, the world's largest cloud service providers, including Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, have partnered with Equinix to leverage its global platform of more than 220 data centers to directly connect to their strategic business partners and customers.

"With our xScale program, these hyperscalers can continue to grow at Equinix while in close proximity to an ecosystem of 10,000 customers. The joint venture arrangement of xScale enables these large deployments to be structured in an off-balance sheet model that aims to preserve capital for investment in our traditional retail data center and digital infrastructure business and maintain our strategic and financial flexibility."

Equinix Press Release on June 14, 2021:
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world's digital infrastructure companyTM, today announced agreements for additional joint ventures in the form of limited liability partnerships with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, which when closed and built out will bring the xScaleTM data center portfolio to greater than $6.9 billion across 32 facilities globally.
Rendering of one of the future xScale data centers in Paris
 
Equinix xScale and IBX Data Center Location Map 

xScale data centers add to Equinix's global platform of more than 220 International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers by serving the unique core workload deployment needs of a targeted group of hyperscale companies, including the world's largest cloud service providers. After deal closing and buildout, the xScale data center portfolio will span three regions:

  • Europe: Dublin (three xScale data centers), Frankfurt (five xScale data centers), Helsinki (one xScale data center), London (two xScale data centers), Madrid (two xScale data centers), Milan (one xScale data center), Paris (four xScale data centers) and Warsaw (one xScale data center)
  • Asia-Pacific: Osaka (three xScale data centers) and Tokyo (three xScale data centers)
  • Americas: Mexico City (one xScale data center) and São Paulo (three xScale data centers)
  • Three additional sites are expected to be announced at a future date

Said Charles Meyers, CEO of Equinix:  "For years, the world's largest cloud service providers, including Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, have partnered with Equinix to leverage its global platform of more than 220 data centers to directly connect to their strategic business partners and customers. With our xScale program, these hyperscalers can continue to grow at Equinix while in close proximity to an ecosystem of 10,000 customers. The joint venture arrangement of xScale enables these large deployments to be structured in an off-balance sheet model that aims to preserve capital for investment in our traditional retail data center and digital infrastructure business and maintain our strategic and financial flexibility.

Highlights/Key Facts
  • It is expected that the xScale portfolio of 32 facilities will provide more than 600 megawatts (MW) of power capacity when fully built out.
  • With xScale data centers, hyperscale companies can add core deployments to their existing access point footprints at Equinix, enabling their growth on a single platform that can immediately span 63 global metros and offer direct interconnection—within a vibrant set of ecosystems—to their customers and strategic business partners.
  • Platform Equinix® features more than 40% of the private on-ramps to the top global cloud service providers – more than any other provider. As hyperscale companies scale their operations at Equinix, the ecosystem of nearly 10,000 enterprises and other companies currently operating at Equinix benefit from increased opportunities to directly connect and operate in proximity to the largest global cloud operators.
  • Equinix is a leader in data center sustainability and is greening the supply chains of its customers. Equinix's long-term goal of using 100% clean and renewable energy for its global platform has resulted in significant increases in renewable energy coverage globally. Equinix has continued to make advancements in the way it designs, builds and operates its data centers with high energy-efficiency standards, and all xScale data centers will be LEED certified (or regional equivalent certification).
  • The JV projects in today's announcement are expected to close in several waves over the course of 2021, pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions. 
  • Under the terms of the JV agreements, GIC will own an 80% equity interest in the future joint ventures and Equinix will own the remaining 20% equity interest. 

Quote
  • Jabez Tan, Head of Research, Structure Research:
    "By building upon the xScale portfolio, Equinix is well-positioned to further accelerate the adoption of hybrid and multicloud as the IT architecture of choice for today's businesses, while meeting hyperscalers' needs for operational reliability, global reach and interconnectivity to rich ecosystems that are critical to serving their customers worldwide."