Global digital infrastructure company Equinix, Inc. has completed the acquisition of 13 data centers in Canada and their operations from BCE Inc. (Bell) for US$780 million (CA$1,041 million) in an all-cash transaction, includes approximately 1.2 million gross square feet of data center space.
Equinix now operates 15 high-quality International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers coast to coast in Canada. In addition to the two Toronto facilities (TR1 and TR2) that Equinix has operated since 2010 and 2015 respectively, the company now operates four additional data centers in Toronto (TR4, TR5, TR6, TR7), three in Calgary (CL1, CL2, CL3), and one in each of the following metros: Kamloops (KA1), Montreal (MT1), Ottawa (OT1) Saint John (SJ1), Vancouver (VA1) and Winnipeg (WI1).
The 13 acquired data centers in Canada are expected to generate approximately US$112 million (CA$150 million) annualized revenue (Q4’20E LQA), which represents a purchase multiple of approximately 15x EV / adjusted EBITDA.
The acquisition will be immediately accretive to Equinix’s adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share, excluding integration costs.Equinix’s global platform currently includes more than 220 data centers across 63 metros.
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Equinix also announced that Andrew Eppich, a six-year veteran of Equinix originally from Toronto, has been appointed Managing Director, Canada. In this role, Eppich will be responsible for defining Equinix’s strategic vision to: develop the enterprise market; deliver a strong network of prospects, customers and channel partners; provide thought leadership to accelerate new business and revenue growth; and expand Equinix’s role as a trusted advisor to companies as they expand their digital infrastructure.