Ares, CDPQ, and Schroders provide EUR750m to Vantage Data Centers for EMEA platform growth
Ares Management’s Infrastructure Debt and Alternative Credit strategies (Ares), CDPQ, and Schroders Capital’s Private Debt and Credit Alternatives team has announced an agreement to provide up to EUR750m (approx. $1.1bn) in financing to Vantage Data Centers.
Vantage, a global provider of hyperscale data centre campuses, will use the funds to expand its EMEA platform. Ares and CDPQ are each providing up to EUR300m, while Schroders Capital is contributing up to EUR150m.
The financing, alongside incremental equity, will support the growth of Vantage EMEA’s high-quality data centre portfolio.
The Vantage EMEA portfolio is one of the fastest growing hyperscale data centre platforms in the region, currently comprising 14 campuses. These serve key markets in Europe and South Africa, including London, Frankfurt, Berlinw, Milan, Warsaw, Zurich, Cardiff, Dublin, and Johannesburg.
Once fully developed, the portfolio aims to generate 751MW of combined IT capacity, contracted over the long term to global cloud service providers and top-tier internet providers that require rapidly scalable, reliable, and efficient high computing power.
“Vantage appreciates the support of Ares, CDPQ, and Schroders Capital to enable our strategic growth across EMEA,” said Nick Haslehurst, CFO of Vantage Data Centers, EMEA.
“With the unprecedented scale that we are seeing with high performance computing, including AI, and digital transformation through cloud adoption, Vantage is well positioned to continue expanding our footprint with high-quality and sustainable data centres to keep pace with customer demand.”
“We are pleased to support Vantage in their next stage of growth, delivering mission-critical digital infrastructure across EMEA in a sector experiencing significant demand,” said Roopa Murthy, head of Ares Infrastructure Debt Europe.
“This innovative financing demonstrates Ares’ ability to deliver a scaled solution to a high-quality platform with robust cashflow characteristics,” said Eli Appelbaum, co-head of Ares European Alternative Credit.
“As AI adoption and the demand for cloud capacity continue to accelerate, Vantage has developed a market-leading position through a diversified global platform of data centre campuses,” said Marc Cormier, executive vice-president, and head of Fixed Income, CDPQ.
“This additional flexible capital will fuel Vantage’s strategic capabilities in Europe and builds on CDPQ’s track record in the telecommunications and digital infrastructure sectors. We remain committed to investing in the growth of critical digital infrastructure, which forms the backbone of interconnected economies while generating long-term value.”
“The digitization of our lives has made us increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure. This investment reflects our commitment to supporting transformative projects in the digital infrastructure space, where we have demonstrated our expertise in providing long-term financing solutions for critical infrastructure,” commented Augustin Segard, co-head of Infrastructure Debt Investments and Fund Manager at Schroders Capital.
“We are excited to contribute to the growth of Vantage EMEA's high-quality portfolio to help it meet the increasing demand for data centres, while generating long-term value for our investors.”
