I Squared Capital's nLighten buys Proximity, a UK-based edge company

nLighten, a European Edge data center company, has acquired the United Kingdom's Proximity Data Centres. The agreement's terms were not disclosed. nLighten, owned by I Squared Capital, plans to retain its data center operations in the country.

Proximity, founded in 2020, administers ten regional data centers across the United Kingdom. The company intends to add ten more employees in the near future. nLighten is owned by I Squared Capital via its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III. Exa Infrastructure (another I Squared Capital entity) provided the company with its initial ten data centers in Germany upon its launch earlier this year. The company subsequently acquired the French operator Euclyde Data Centers, assuming control of six facilities throughout the country.

In 2020, Proximity obtained a $30.8 million loan to finance its $99 million UK rollout, which has since incorporated a 6MW facility in Birmingham, a Nottingham development, campuses in Liverpool, Chester, and Coventry, and the purchase of a data center in Swindon. The company established a data center in Bristol, southwest England, in 2022; Capgemini previously occupied the location. Additionally, it opened a second data center in Milton Keynes, which was formerly a Nuco Technologies facility.

nLighten's financial advisor for the transaction was RBC Capital Markets. Houlihan Lokey advised Proximity.