Hosting and colocation service provider Equinix has announced an agreement to purchase a portfolio of 13 data center sites across Canada from BCE Inc., the massive telecommunications and media conglomerate, and the corporate parent of Bell MTS and Bell Canada. The company expects to close this USD 750 million deal in the second half of 2020.
The 13 data center sites that will join California-based Equinix’s portfolio represent 25 individual facilities and are expected to generate annual revenues of approximately USD 105 million. In addition to cementing a stronger foothold in the third-largest economy in the Americas, Equinix will also gain more than 600 customers that are currently operating within the Bell data centers. Equinix is already the world’s largest data center and colocation provider, with a network of more than 210 facilities across 55 metros. The company’s main business is hosting the technology infrastructure of third party organizations.
“Canadian businesses are in the midst of a significant transformation as they evolve their operations to be increasingly digital and cloud-enabled,” said Charles Meyers, Equinix President and CEO, in a statement. “This expansion is a significant win for Canadian businesses, as well as for multinational companies that can leverage Platform Equinix to increase their digital presence in Canada by interconnecting to a rich ecosystem of customers, business partners and other strategic companies in Canada.”
Under the agreement, Equinix and Bell will also form a strategic partnership to deliver integrated networking and hybrid multi-cloud services both directly and through the combined partner ecosystems. The companies said that this joint offering will combine Bell’s telecommunications services and technology expertise with Equinix’s global platform of interconnected data centers and business ecosystems.
Tom Little, President of Bell Business Markets, said, “Our partnership with Equinix will further accelerate digital transformation opportunities for Canadian enterprise customers, combining access to Equinix’s interconnected global data center platform with Bell’s advanced broadband network connections, a wide range of cloud solutions and experienced professional services team.”
In addition to adding new capacity in Toronto, Ontario, where Equinix currently operates two International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers, the company will expand its interconnection services to seven new metros, including Calgary (Alberta), Kamloops and Vancouver (British Columbia), Millidgeville (New Brunswick), Montreal (Quebec), Ottawa (Ontario) and Winnipeg (Manitoba).
