Global private investment firm Bain Capital has announced the acquisition of 80 percent stake in AQ Compute, a data centre subsidiary under Aquila Group. While the financial specifics of the deal were not disclosed, according to the press release by Bain capital, the strategic alliance with Aquila Group targets an investment volume of up to multi-billion Euros.
Through this new partnership, Bain Capital and Aquila Group aim to significantly accelerate AQ Compute’s plans to develop and operate sustainable data centres for hyperscale and Artificial Intelligence (AI) customers across Europe. Founded in 2020, AQ Compute provides modular and AI-ready data centre and colocation services, primarily powered by clean energy. AQ Compute launched its first sustainable data centre near Oslo in 2024. Additional projects in Barcelona, Milan etc. are also underway.
Through capital investment and its global expertise in the data centre industry, the investment by Bain Capital further supports the growth of AQ compute.
“The European data centre sector presents an attractive market opportunity, driven by robust cloud demand, a need for high-performance computing and AI deployments, and data sovereignty across the region,” said Ali Haroon, Partner at Bain Capital, adding, “Through this partnership with Aquila Group, we bring a differentiated, renewable energy to tackle the ever-growing power challenges in this critical part of Europe’s infrastructure.”
This partnership is timely as the European data centre demand is predicted to more than triple by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company. The demand is expected to grow to approximately 35 GW up from 10 GW today. With high power consumption by data centres, it becomes more crucial to place emphasis on sustainable data centres.
“The rapid growth in data demands presents both a challenge and an opportunity – while more data centres are essential, they must be sustainable. Aquila will invest several hundred-million euros alongside Bain Capital’s larger commitment, with Aquila Capital providing co-investments,” said Roman Rosslenbroich, Co-founder and CEO of Aquila Group.
Aquila group is a private investment company managing a diverse portfolio of businesses focused on innovative solutions across various sectors, particularly in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure.