A major deal, through which digital infrastructure company Equinix is to acquire West African data centre and connectivity solutions provider MainOne for an enterprise value of US$320 million, is now complete.
The completion of this acquisition augments Equinix’s long-term strategy to become a leading African carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company by being able to bring what it describes as a full range of transformative technologies and connectivity to Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where MainOne has a presence.
This acquisition will extend the company’s global platform, Platform Equinix, into West Africa, giving organizations based inside and outside of Africa access to global and regional markets.
Equinix believes MainOne, headquartered in Lagos, to be one of the most exciting technology businesses to emerge from Africa. Its assets include: four operational data centres, an extensive submarine network, a terrestrial fibre network in Nigeria, and connectivity to terrestrial sites extending across 65 points of presence (PoPs) in cities across Portugal, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. MainOne also has access to key internet exchanges, and an estimated 800 or more business-to-business customers.
It will now operate under a new brand, ‘MainOne, an Equinix company’. Founder Funke Opeke will continue to lead the company.
Closure of the MainOne acquisition marks the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions for Equinix, which recently announced expansions in South America, Canada and India.
Globally, Platform Equinix is comprised of 240 data centres across 66 metros and 27 countries on six continents, providing data centre and interconnection services to more than 10,000 companies, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
