Compass Datacenters: No Comment On Takeover Report

The Dallas-based data center specialist is the subject of a multi-billion tug-of-war between two equity powerhouses, according to a published report.

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Compass Datacenters is caught in a $5.5 billion bidding war between Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DigitalBridge Group, according to a published report.

Citing sources, Reuters said Brookfield and DigitalBridge are involved in a private auction for Dallas-based Compass Datacenters, a privately held company, the sources said, adding an outcome is expected this month.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DigitalBridge could not be reached for comment. In a statement to CRN, Compass Datacenters declined to comment.

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“Unfortunately we don’t have any commentary to offer right now,” a spokesman for the company wrote.

[RELATED: DartPoints Nabs Venyu’s Secure Data Centers In Private-Equity-Backed Expansion ]

Backed by private equity, deals in the data center space have accelerated this year.

In April, Brookfield Infrastructure bought European data center firm Data4 from AXA IM. Data4 is headquartered in Paris, and operates data centers across France, Italy, and Spain, with a pipeline of projects in Poland and Germany.

In May, DartPoints — backed by Astra Capital Management — grew its national data center footprint with the acquisition of Venyu, which builds and hosts weather-tested, secure data centers in the heart of south Louisiana’s “Hurricane Alley.” Venyu was DartPoints’ fourth acquisition since 2020, DartPoints CEO Scott Willis told CRN at the time.

With Venyu’s three data centers now folded into the company’s portfolio, Willis said the company now has 11 data centers across 10 U.S. markets with more than 325,000 square feet of space. DataPoints is focused on growing in edge data center markets, the Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions and some larger Tier 4 regions.

Compass provides custom, move-in ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Its investors include RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Azrieli Group, the company’s website states.

Opposing Toronto-based Brookfield in the bidding is DigitalBridge, a Boca Raton, Florida-headquartered global digital infrastructure firm, with more than 25 years investing in and operating businesses across the digital ecosystem including cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. The company manages a $50 billion portfolio of digital infrastructure assets.

Brookfield Infrastructure bills itself as an global investment firm looking for data center purchases that provide stable cash flow and “require minimal maintenance capital expenditures,” according to its website.