REDWOOD CITY, Calif. and
TOKYO, Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinix, Inc.
(Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company,
today announced that acting through its Japanese subsidiary it has
commenced a cash tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares
of Tokyo-based Bit-isle Inc.
(President and CEO: Kohei Terada,
TSE: 3811). The offer price is JPY922
per share, in an all cash transaction totaling 33.3 billion Japanese Yen or approximately
$280 million U.S. dollars. The tender
offer period is expected to run from September 9, 2015 to October 26, 2015, unless the tender offer period
is extended. The offer is conditioned on, among other things, the
tender by Bit-isle shareholders of more than 66 2/3% of the
Bit-isle shares. If the conditions to the tender offer are
satisfied, Equinix will move forward to acquire any remaining
shares under Japanese corporate law and expects to complete the
acquisition of Bit-isle by early 2016. The Board of Directors of
Bit-isle has agreed to endorse the tender offer. Additionally, the
major shareholders of Bit-isle, Warehouse Terrada, Mr. Kohei Terada and Mr. Yasunobu Terada, have agreed to tender all of
their shares, representing 29.74% of Bit-isle shares on a fully
diluted basis.
The acquisition of Bit-isle will further strengthen Equinix's
position in Asia-Pacific—the company's fastest growing
region—improve the company's market position in Japan, and help meet growing demand for
interconnection among Japanese businesses. With Bit-isle, Equinix
will have strong local expertise to help drive success in
Japan.
Highlights / Key Facts
- With the successful acquisition of Bit-isle, Equinix will gain
significant scale by creating the fourth largest data center
operator in Japan([1]).
Upon completion of the acquisition, Equinix will gain five data
centers in Tokyo and one in
Osaka in close proximity to the
existing Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX®)
data centers in Japan creating
campuses for customers' future expansion needs. After the
completion of TY5 in Q1 2016, Equinix will have 10 IBX data centers
in Tokyo and two in Osaka.
- The combination will accelerate Equinix's cloud and enterprise
ecosystem growth as well as create significant cross selling
opportunities. Bit-isle complements Equinix's robust cloud and
network service provider customer base with their strong Japanese
enterprise and system integrator customer base including some of
Japan's largest businesses. Those
businesses will have immediate access to Equinix's global cloud and
network service provider customers, and will be able to leverage
Platform Equinix™ to expand into other key markets.
- Equinix Japan has the highest mix of interconnection revenue in
the company's APAC region. Bit-isle adds close geographic capacity
adjacent to Equinix's carrier dense sites that Equinix can leverage
to continue to scale its global interconnection platform. The
acquired data centers can be tethered to existing Equinix IBX data
centers for campus connectivity to network and cloud service
providers, business ecosystems and other enterprises within a
metropolitan area.
- The transaction, if completed, is expected to be accretive to
Equinix's adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share upon
close.
- The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi has committed to provide a
one-year senior bridge term loan facility to fund the
acquisition.
Quotes
- Kohei Terada, president and
CEO, Bit-isle:
"Our Company has been innovating in the IT infrastructure
industry as the number one independent data center provider in
Japan. This opportunity to
integrate with Equinix, the number one data center operator in the
world, enables us to maintain our neutral position, while providing
access to the most densely interconnected networks and cloud
services, and gives our customers access to data centers in 33
markets globally. We will continue to support Japanese companies in
Japan, and in every market where
they do business."
- Steve Smith, president and
CEO, Equinix:
"With the acquisition of Bit-isle, Equinix will be in a
strong position to attract Japanese enterprises. Both Equinix and
Bit-isle have the same vision for cloud computing, and
Bit-isle's five data centers are in the best locations in
Tokyo. The company's strong local
leadership, business and network operations teams will greatly
enhance our strength in this important market and we look forward
to bringing them into the Equinix family."
Additional Resources
- For more information, including an investor presentation and
the Notice of Commencement of Tender Offer for Share Certificates,
Etc. of Bit-isle Inc. (Stock Code: 3811), both in English and
Japanese, please visit the Equinix Investor Relations page.
- Equinix to Build New $43M Data Center in Tokyo [press
release]
About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects
the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and
partners inside the most interconnected data centers. In 33 markets
across five continents, Equinix is where companies come together to
realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and
cloud strategies. www.equinix.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are
based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations discussed in such
forward-looking statements, including statements related to the
acquisition of Bit-isle, the expected benefits from the acquisition
and the expected timing for closing the acquisition. Factors
that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to,
the failure of one or more conditions to the tender offer for the
Bit-isle shares to be satisfied; the occurrence of any
event, change or other circumstance that would compromise our
ability to complete the acquisition of Bit-isle within the expected
timeframe or at all; unanticipated costs or difficulties
relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will
acquire into Equinix, including Bit-isle; the challenges of
acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing,
deploying and delivering Equinix services; a failure to receive
significant revenue from customers in recently built out or
acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing
arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from
existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient
cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding
indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key
customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular,
see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available
upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation
to update the forward-looking information contained in this press
release.
Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix,
Inc.
International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.
[1] Source: Fuji Chimera Research Institute
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equinix-plans-to-expand-data-center-footprint-in-japan-through-acquisition-of-bit-isle-300138865.html
SOURCE Equinix, Inc.