Elea Digital: Oi Group begins selling its assets, closing the data centers deal with Piemonte Holding

SÃO PAULO, March 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The financial group Piemonte Holding, from Rio de Janeiro, closed last Friday (12) the acquisition of five data centers from Oi for a total amount of R$ 367 million (approx. USD 70 million). The transaction is in accordance with the amendment to the judicial reorganization plan of the telecom company, one of the largest in Latin America, and marks the first in a series of sales that Oi plans to carry out in the coming years.

The R$ 367 million are divided into a R$ 250 million cash transaction, made on Friday (12); a deferred R$ 75 million payment, in addition to R$ 42 million in investments in the UPI Data Center. Last year, the purchase of Oi's UPI Data Center by Piemonte Holding was approved in the General Meeting of Oi's creditors by the judge in charge of the company's judicial recovery and also in a judicial bid.

"Piemonte is a young organization that believes in the digital transformation of the economy. The pandemic has accelerated a process that was already underway and the reorganization of Oi, which is henceforth a fait accompli, is an injection of optimism for Brazil. The total assets and the planned investments in the telecom company exceeds R$ 40 billion. I believe that, with an appropriate digital infrastructure, this country may be brought back into the group of global major players, finally turning the page and forgetting past mistakes," says Alessandro Lombardi, CEO of Piemonte.

The purchase made by Titan, one of Piemonte Holding's investment vehicles, took place through a finance operation supported by BTG Pactual and Banco Bradesco, two banks that are to be long-term business partners. The investment fund Alba Fund, managed and administered by Piemonte, also became part of the transaction package.

The five new data centers that are now part of the Titan Elea Digital conglomerate, Piemonte's data center holding company, are located in Curitiba, Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Brasília, with two units. According to regulators and market researches, with this transaction, Elea Digital will become a federation covering about 10% of the Brazilian colocation market, which major strength is the geographic location of its assets. 

"Brazil is a continental-sized country and our data centers are unique: in addition to hosting, we can offer connectivity and minimize latency. We see an enormous potential, which is validated by our financial sponsors. We were lucky to find a management such as Oi's, with which we share values, strategic vision and excellent execution capacity," stated Alessandro. 

About Piemonte Holding:

Based in Rio de Janeiro and with a branch in New York City, USA, Piemonte combines local and global knowledge, as its platform crosses borders. Piemonte strives for excellence in all its transactions, providing state-of-the-art tools for asset management, administration and financial services. Since 2019, Piemonte has invested in the Elea Project, a data center holding company that is one of the main digital infrastructure investment projects in Latin America. 

Piemonte's investment platform allows any investor, whether an entrepreneur from a small town or a multinational company, to reach new frontiers. The result of its investments exceeds any expectations. For more information, visit: www.piemonteholding.com