Equinix is acquiring the India operations of GPX Global Systems for $161 million or 15x the projected EBITDA at full utilization, the companies say. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2021.
This is M&A deal 323 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the full M&A deal list here.
Both GPX data centers to be acquired are located in Mumbai. The data centers span more than 1,350 cabinets, with an additional 500 cabinets at full buildout. The facilities will add more than 90,000 square feet of colocation space to Platform Equinix when fully built.
The data centers connect to such third-party systems as Amazon Direct Connect, Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect. GPX India facilities also host key internet exchanges such as Mumbai IX-DECIX, AMS-IX India, Extreme IX and Bharat IX, allowing ISPs, carriers, CDNs and large enterprises to exchange internet traffic.
Overall, Equinix now spans more than 210 data centers across 56 metros and 26 countries, and the network serves more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
Equinix Acquiring Two GPIX India Data Centers: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, Equinix CEO Charles Meyers said:
"India represents the second largest internet user base in the world, with consumption expected to grow with the continued advancement of internet infrastructure, smartphone ownership and the penetration of 4G and 5G. Extending Platform Equinix to India has long been a strategic objective for Equinix and we are excited that the GPX transaction will allow us to capitalize on this market opportunity and meet the needs of our customers as they seek to expand their digital businesses. The acquisition of GPX's business in India means we are able to make a giant leap forward in terms of growing our ecosystem in India, and gives us a solid foundation for rapid growth and expansion in the country. This acquisition follows the recent announcement of our planned expansion in Canada and is a testament to our continued focus on expanding our global reach as companies continue to view interconnection at the digital edge as a business imperative."
Added Jeremy Deutsch, president, Equinix Asia-Pacific:
"Over the years, we have consistently received high levels of interest from our customers about servicing their interconnection needs in India. Today's announcement will further strengthen our leadership position in the Asia-Pacific region and directly meet the stated needs of our global customers to support them as they invest and expand in India. With McKinsey identifying India as the second fastest growing digital economy, more and more Indian companies will begin to embark on their digital transformation journeys, driving up the demand for data center and interconnection services in the country.3As major cloud players establish themselves in the market, this move will provide enterprises with the infrastructure they need to embrace rapidly growing trends such as hybrid multicloud and digitization and the ability to interconnect with people, locations, cloud services and data across the world to digitally transform their businesses."
Concluded Manoj Paul, managing director, GPX Global Systems, India Ltd:
"We are excited that this acquisition will enable us to join a global leader in the interconnection and data center industry that's fully aligned with our value proposition. This acquisition will allow our customers to expand across the region and globally via Platform Equinix. Equinix has been highly successful with enterprises worldwide, the segment which is complementary with our existing customer base of carriers, content and cloud service providers. The appetite from global companies for expansion into India is matched by local interest in expanding overseas. This creates a thriving marketplace and by integrating our data centers with Platform Equinix, our customers will have access to a global interconnection platform that can accelerate their business and connect them with customers and partners across the world."
J.P. Morgan, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India advised Equinix in connection with this transaction.
Equinix Acquisitions, Growth
Equinix has been busy on the M&A front. The company in July 2020 announced plans to acquire 13 data centers from Bell Canada for US$740 million -- 0r roughly 15x EV (enterprise value)/adjusted EBITDA.
The company has blended organic growth and M&A deals to drive Equinix revenues were $1.47 billion in Q2 2020, up 6 percent over the corresponding quarter last year.
Meanwhile, M&A activity in the data center sector has remained steady.
