ACQUIRING TWO DATA CENTERS

Global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center Digital Realty, has just established a joint venture with Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund to acquire Medallion Data Centres, a provider of colocation and interconnection services in Nigeria.

Led by its CEO and co-founder Ike Nnamani, Medallion operates two data centers, one located in Lagos and the other in Abuja – the capital of Nigeria.  The company’s Lagos facility is a carrier neutral data center with over 70 carriers and internet service providers, also serving as a peering point for subsea cables currently operating in Nigeria.

“Over the next decade, there will be huge opportunity for global businesses to tap into Africa’s expanding internet economy – with predictions that it could reach 5.2% of the continent’s GDP by 2025, contributing nearly $180 billion to its economy (up from $115 billion in 2020).  By 2050, the internet economy has the potential to contribute $712 billion.  Through major investment in the continent’s internet infrastructure, Digital Realty aims to be a core enabler of these economic and quality of life gains,” said A. William Stein, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty.

“The expansion of our platform announced today is a leap forward but it’s just the start of our $500 million commitment to investment in the continent over the next decade.  We see a huge opportunity to underpin Africa’s expanding internet economy and play a central role in its growth.”

This announcement is similar to the acquisition of Kenyan data center operator iColo in 2019, where Digital Realty (Owner of Interxion) and Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund established a major partnership with iColo. While the iColo campus in Mombasa was recently expanded to deliver an additional 1.6MW of power and 12,900 square feet of data center space, the company has announced that it will expand its portfolio to Mozambique through the development of its first data center in the country which will be located in the capital and port city of Maputo.

As part of the latest transaction, the joint venture will be acquiring a land parcel adjacent to the Lagos data center to provide expansion capacity.  Also, Medallion’s current CEO and co-founder Ike Nnamani, will continue to lead the data center business.