Equinix Acquiring 13 Data Centers From Bell Canada For $750 Million

Equinix President of the Americas Jon Lin says his company will become the 'market leader for data center and interconnection services' in Canada with the purchase of a total of 25 facilities across 13 data center sites from Bell Canada.

Data center giant Equinix is set to acquire 13 data centers in Canada from Bell Canada, which is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual revenue and open new gateways for North America to Asia and Europe.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based $5.6 billion data center colocation and interconnection provider will significantly expand its presence in the country from only one region to eight metros in Canada. Equinix has agreed to pay $750 million in cash for 25 facilities across 13 data center sites from Bell Canada, a large telecommunications and media conglomerate.

Jon Lin, president of the Americas for Equinix, said the acquisition positions the company as a “market leader for data center and interconnection services” in Canada. “It opens key gateways for North America to Asia through Vancouver and North America to Europe through the submarine cable systems in the Millidgeville area,” Lin said in a statement.

[Related: Equinix Revenue Hits $1.45 Billion As All Data Centers ‘Remain Operational’]

The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2020.

The $750 million acquisition shows that there is no slowdown in data center M&A during the coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide, it took less than four months in 2020 for the value of closed data center deals to surpass the total for all of 2019.

Bell Canada’s 13 data center sites will add roughly 1.2 million gross square feet of data center space and 400,000 square feet of colocation space for Platform Equinix.

In addition to adding new capacity in Toronto, Ontario, where Equinix currently operates two International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers, it will extend Equinix's interconnection services to seven new metros including Calgary, Alberta; Kamloops and Vancouver, British Columbia; Millidgeville, New Brunswick; Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Equinix will add more than 600 customers, 500 of which will be net-new, who are operating within Bell’s data centers and boost business in Canada by increasing interconnection with the rest of the world. In addition, Equinix and Bell are forming a strategic partnership to help enterprises in Canada better leverage hybrid multi-cloud solutions.

Last month, Equinix reported first-quarter revenue of $1.45 billion, up 6 percent year over year, with net income of $119 million. The quarter marked the 69th consecutive quarter of sales growth for the company.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Equinix has been able to keep its more than 210 data centers across the globe operational. The company expects annual revenue of between $5.88 billion and $6 billion in 2020.

Regarding the Bell acquisition, Equinix President and CEO Charles Meyers said in a statement, “This expansion is a significant win for Canadian businesses, as well as for multinational companies that can leverage Platform Equinix to increase their digital presence in Canada by interconnecting to a rich ecosystem of customers, business partners and other strategic companies in Canada."