REDWOOD CITY, Calif.,
Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the
global interconnection and data center company, today
announced its expansion into India
through the acquisition of the India operations of GPX Global Systems,
Inc. ("GPX India"). The all-cash transaction value of
US$161 million represents a multiple
of approximately 15x the projected EBITDA at full utilization. The
acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2021, subject to customary
closing conditions including regulatory approval.
The acquisition will extend Platform Equinix® to
India with the addition of two
world-class, highly interconnected data centers, providing a
platform for additional expansion across the country. Equinix
customers will have access to a network-dense data center campus
with more than 200 international brands and local companies,
including the world's leading cloud service providers (CSPs),
leading networks, content delivery network (CDN) providers, all
local carriers, 130 internet service providers (ISPs) and four
internet exchanges. Both data centers are strategically located in
Mumbai, home to the critical IT
infrastructure of numerous global organizations and with
international connectivity serviced by subsea cables at landing
sites located nearby.
According to McKinsey, core digital sectors in India, such as IT and digital communication
services, are projected to double in size by 2025 to contribute
US$355-435 billion to
GDP.1 To further address the proliferation of
digitization of the country, this acquisition will allow Equinix to
support its existing network, content, cloud and enterprise
customers looking to expand in this rapidly growing market. The
expansion will also help local companies accelerate their digital
transformation journeys by deploying their infrastructures,
applications and services closer to the edge through the globally
interconnected platform of more than 210 International Business
ExchangeTM (IBX®) data centers.
Highlights/Key Facts
- Under the agreement, Equinix intends to acquire GPX India's
business consisting of a fiber-connected campus in Mumbai with two data centers, adding more than
1,350 cabinets, with an additional 500 cabinets at full buildout.
The facilities will add more than 90,000 square feet of colocation
space to Platform Equinix when fully built.
- GPX India offers a cloud dense environment and access to major
cloud services, including Amazon Direct Connect, Google Cloud
Dedicated Interconnect and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect.
GPX India also has an interconnection solution that enables
customers to connect to multiple cloud platforms designed to
address the vast appetite for cloud services in the country where
the cloud services market is expected to grow threefold to more
than US$7.1 billion from 2018 to
2022.2
- GPX India facilities also host key internet exchanges such as
Mumbai IX-DECIX, AMS-IX India, Extreme IX and Bharat IX, allowing
ISPs, carriers, CDNs and large enterprises to exchange internet
traffic.
- Globally, Platform Equinix comprises more than 210 data centers
across 56 metros and 26 countries, providing data center and
interconnection services for over 9,500 of the world's leading
businesses, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
Today, Equinix operates 46 IBX data centers in Asia-Pacific across 13 metros in Australia, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia,
Osaka, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.
- J.P. Morgan, Cyril Amarchand
Mangaldas and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP acted as
advisors to Equinix in connection with this transaction.
Quote
- John Dinsdale, Chief Analyst
& Research Director, Synergy Research Group:
"The
data center market in India is
expected to exceed US$1 billion in
2020 and grow at 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from
2019-2024, the third highest rate in the world. Our forecasts show
that the country will become the seventh largest data center market
in the world in 2021."
- Charles Meyers, President and
CEO, Equinix:
"India represents the second largest internet
user base in the world, with consumption expected to grow with the
continued advancement of internet infrastructure, smartphone
ownership and the penetration of 4G and 5G. Extending
Platform Equinix to India has long
been a strategic objective for Equinix and we are excited that the
GPX transaction will allow us to capitalize on this market
opportunity and meet the needs of our customers as they seek to
expand their digital businesses. The acquisition of GPX's business
in India means we are able to make
a giant leap forward in terms of growing our ecosystem in
India, and gives us a solid
foundation for rapid growth and expansion in the country.
This acquisition follows the recent announcement of our planned
expansion in Canada and is a
testament to our continued focus on expanding our global reach as
companies continue to view interconnection at the digital edge as a
business imperative."
- Jeremy Deutsch, President,
Equinix Asia-Pacific:
"Over the years, we have
consistently received high levels of interest from our customers
about servicing their interconnection needs in India. Today's announcement will
further strengthen our leadership position in the Asia-Pacific region and directly meet the
stated needs of our global customers to support them as they invest
and expand in India. With
McKinsey identifying India as the
second fastest growing digital economy, more and more Indian
companies will begin to embark on their digital transformation
journeys, driving up the demand for data center and interconnection
services in the country.3 As major cloud players
establish themselves in the market, this move will provide
enterprises with the infrastructure they need to embrace rapidly
growing trends such as hybrid multicloud and digitization and the
ability to interconnect with people, locations, cloud
services and data across the world to digitally transform their
businesses."
- Manoj Paul, Managing
Director, GPX Global Systems, India Ltd.:
"We are excited
that this acquisition will enable us to join a global leader in the
interconnection and data center industry that's fully aligned with
our value proposition. This acquisition will allow our customers to
expand across the region and globally via Platform Equinix. Equinix
has been highly successful with enterprises worldwide, the segment
which is complementary with our existing customer base of carriers,
content and cloud service providers. The appetite from global
companies for expansion into India
is matched by local interest in expanding overseas. This creates a
thriving marketplace and by integrating our data centers with
Platform Equinix, our customers will have access to a global
interconnection platform that can accelerate their business and
connect them with customers and partners across the
world."
Additional Resources
- Connected India: Accelerating
digital business in an exciting new market [blog]
- IDC MarketScape Report: Worldwide Colocation and
Interconnection Services 2019 - 2020 Vendor Assessment [analyst
report]
- Equinix Asia-Pacific Data Centers [website]
- Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric [website]
- Platform Equinix [website]
About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects
the world's leading businesses to their customers, employees and
partners inside the most-interconnected data centres. On this
global platform for digital business, companies come together
across more than 55 markets on five continents to reach everywhere,
interconnect everyone and integrate everything they need to create
their digital futures. 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 data centers
from GPX, 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, risks to
our business and operating results related to the COVID-19
pandemic, unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the
integration of data centers or companies we have acquired or will
acquire into Equinix, including the data centers we may acquire
from GPX; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing
IBX data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix
services, including in the GPX data centers; a failure to receive
significant revenue from customers in recently built out or
acquired data centers, including those acquired from GPX;
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 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
particular, see recent Equinix 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.
1 Digital India: Technology to transform a connected
nation
2 NASSCOM Cloud: Next Wave of Growth in
India 2019
3 Digital India:
Technology to transform a connected nation
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SOURCE Equinix, Inc.