Brookfield's infrastructure business has debuted in the European data centre market with the purchase of a 31-centre platform.

The deal, with a reported value of $3.8B, comes as global capital zeroes in on the growth opportunities in the European data centre scene.

Analysis by CBRE suggested that lack of power and limited land availability will constrain future supply, while renewed demand from hyperscalers and other users keeps pricing pressure up.

In the final quarter of 2022 in the key European markets of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, new supply totalled 184 megawatts but take-up increased to 202MW, up on Q3, CBRE reported.

The deal between Brookfield Infrastructure and AXA IM Alts sees Data4 change hands and with it 31 data centres in six countries with 850MW secured power. The 1.8M SF portfolio is focused on Paris, Warsaw, Milan, Luxembourg and Frankfurt. It was acquired by AXA IM in 2018.

The investment marks Brookfield’s first major entry into the increasingly fancied European data centre market. Brookfield will bring greenfield development and renewable power capabilities to grow the business throughout Europe.

Announcing the deal, Brookfield said Data4’s long-term inflation-linked contracted business model, with blue-chip hyperscale customers, provides stable and recurring revenues that fit well within its investment strategy.

Brookfield is not alone in sniffing out an opportunity. Stockholm-based private equity and venture capital firm EQT is close to the $8B purchase of data centre giant Global Switch, whose European centres include London (totalling 957K SF), Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Madrid, Reuters reported.