Canadian operator BCE has agreed to sell 25 data centres to Equinix for CAD 1.04 billion (USD 750 million) in cash. The sale is part of Bell's strategy to focus on its core telecom network infrastructure, and BCE said it will keep five data centres used as central offices.
The deal includes 25 data centres at 13 sites in eight cities across Canada, good for a total of 1.2 million gross feet of space. Equinix said it will benefit from increased capacity in Toronto, where it already has two data centres, and bring its business to seven new metro areas: Calgary, Alberta; Kamloops and Vancouver, British Columbia; Millidgeville, New Brunswick; Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Bell will continue to work with Equinix to serve the over 600 business customers at the sites and become the first Equinix Platinum Partner in Canada. Bell will continue to own and operate five other data centres that are located in its network central offices in Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, St. John's and Toronto.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2020, pending regulatory approval. Equinix said the takeover should add immediately to AFFO, excluding integration costs. The assets generate around USD 105 million in annual revenue, and the purchase price is worth 15 times annual adjusted EBITDA.
Equinix announced in May that it was in talks on a potential acquisition to add new sites. The company raised nearly USD 1.5 billion in a share offering to help fund the takeover.
