Data Center Firms DataBank, EdgeCore Reportedly Courting Buyers

Multiple prominent data center firms are reportedly looking to sell stakes in their companies as record demand drives valuations higher. 

DataBank and EdgeCore are the most prominent operators and developers shopping stakes in their companies this summer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. 

Netrality Data Centers and Edged are also looking to offload ownership shares, the WSJ reported. 

The potential sale of DataBank is among the largest deals being considered, with a price tag approaching $25B for a majority stake in the company, the WSJ reported. The Dallas-based firm, which operates colocation and single-tenant data centers in 27 markets across the U.S. and UK, is owned by digital infrastructure giant DigitalBridge and a consortium of other investors. 

In April, DataBank obtained $2B in construction loans for an expansion of its campus in Red Oak, Texas. Last month, it announced it had increased that financing deal by $650M and obtained an $800M corporate credit facility.

Denver-based EdgeCore is also looking to sell a stake and earlier this month reportedly asked potential buyers to submit offers. Backed by Swiss investor Partners Group, EdgeCore is a developer and operator of single-tenant facilities for hyperscalers, with three properties in Virginia and others in Phoenix, Silicon Valley and Reno, Nevada. 

While sales of data center assets have remained muted, sales of the data center operators themselves have been on the rise. Data center M&A more than doubled to exceed $60B last year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Blackstone in April acquired a 49% stake in Rowan Digital Infrastructure, and last year, Global Infrastructure Partners and MGX purchased Aligned Data Centers for close to $40B. 

Private equity firms are expected to be the primary buyers in these platform-level transactions. The WSJ reported that one potential player is Helix Digital Infrastructure, a data center investment platform launched earlier this month by KKR.