Evolution Data Centres (EDC) has entered into a programmatic joint venture with affiliates of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity giant for the development of sustainable hyper-scale data centers in the fast-growing cloud markets in Southeast Asia.
As part of the Venture, the private equity company will be committing capital from its maiden asset-level Asia real estate Fund, which successfully closed with committed capital of $2.8 billion in late 2021.
EDC was founded by a team of executives with over 25 years of experience in the Asian data center market, have deployed more than 640MW of capacity and led more than $1bn of digital infrastructure transactions in the region. Darren Webb, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of EDC said:
“I am delighted to announce our new partnership. It is great to have the backing of such a credible investor who shares our passion for building and operating hyper-scale, sustainable data centers across multiple high-growth markets in Southeast Asia. This funding will help us realise our vision of being the leading sustainable data center provider in the region.”
Evolution was established to address two key challenges: the lack of quality and scale of data center capacity in emerging Asian markets, and the critical need for sustainable infrastructure in the region.
“Warburg Pincus has an outstanding track record of investing in Asia real estate and digital
infrastructure. We look forward to drawing on their wealth of experience in undertaking large-scale capital expenditure programs in the region as we embark on our next stage of growth.” said Ed Martin-Sperry, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of EDC.
Warburg Pincus has been investing in Asia real estate companies and platforms for over 15 years. It is one of the largest investors in Asia real estate, with over $7.5 billion invested in over 50 real estate ventures. In 2021, Warburg Pincus successfully raised its inaugural Warburg Pincus Asia Real Estate Fund with a final close at the hard cap of $2.8 billion. The Fund will be used to buy and develop real estate assets in Asia, focusing on New Economy real estate.
Private Equity in Data Centers
Recently, private equity companies have shown considerable interest in the data center space, as it has become critical infrastructure in the development of an economy- similar to say roads or ports. In April, Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners, through a fund under its management, entered into various agreements with IMM Investment Corp. (“IMM Investment”), a leading Korean private equity firm, for Gaw Capital to make a strategic investment in Dreammark1.
Following this announcement, the Gaw Capital global data center platform comprises of data centers located in China, Indonesia, Japan and now in South Korea. In February, DreamMark 1 had said that it is increasing its server footprint, in excess of 400 racks and an ICT floor, for an exclusive high electric power zone this year.
Private equity firms including EQT AB and KKR & Co. (KKR) are among bidders on a short list to buy data center company Global Switch. Gaw Capital, PAG and Stonepeak Partners were also selected to be in the next round of bidding for Global Switch, according to traders, who cited a Bloomberg report. Some bidders may team up for an offer, the report added.
