Global Switch seeks buyers for European and Asia Pacific data centers

In an effort to raise $6 billion, Global Switch is contemplating selling its operations in Europe and Asia Pacific separately. According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, the London-based company may offer its Europe and Asia Pacific units to separate purchasers with the expectation that each will be valued at approximately $3 billion.

The company has been contemplating a sale since 2021, when it initiated discussions with prospective purchasers and initially suggested a price range of $10 billion to $11 billion. However, this was not well received. In January of this year, the company's inability to justify such a high valuation brought an end to the discussion.

Several potential purchasers (EQT, KKR, PAG, Stonepeak, Blackstone, DigitalBridge Group, Gaw Capital Partners, Equinix, Brookfield Asset Management, Digital Realty, the Australian pension fund AustralianSuper, and NextDC & Macquarie Capital) expressed an interest in acquiring only a portion of the business at the time.

There is also the possibility, according to Bloomberg's sources, that Global Switch will sell its Australian business separately from the rest of Asia. In recent years, Global Switch's position in Australia has been somewhat precarious. With Chinese corporations, including Jiangsu Shagang Group Co and Avic Trust Co owning a majority stake in Global Switch, the Australian government expressed security concerns about storing data in its facilities. The Australian government announced in 2021 that all federal agencies would leave Global Switch data centers by July 2022.

The company's Chinese investors are reportedly amenable to a variety of solutions, and a sale could be relaunched within the next few months.