GLOBAL data centre operator Equinix is considering a sale of a minority stake in its Hong Kong facilities, valuing the assets at about US$2 billion, two sources said.
This is part of a move to capitalise on the surge in demand from artificial intelligence (AI).
The sources – who have direct knowledge of the matter but declined to be named as the information is confidential – said that Equinix has hired Citigroup to run the sale.
The California-headquartered company could sell 25 per cent in its Hong Kong data centres, one of the sources said.
A spokesperson for Equinix said that the company was fully committed to its Hong Kong business, without commenting on the possible minority stake sale.
“Equinix Hong Kong serves as a key interconnection hub for our global customer base. We will continue to invest in future growth to ensure our customers can deploy in Hong Kong with confidence,” the spokesperson said.
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Citigroup declined to comment.
The plan comes as global private equity investors, asset managers and technology companies are readying for billions of dollars worth of deals and investments linked to data centres in Asia, as the AI boom fuels demand for digital infrastructure.
Equinix runs five data centres in Hong Kong, serving hundreds of businesses from a wide range sectors, including more than 200 cloud and IT services and over 105 network services.
Founded in 1998 in Silicon Valley, Equinix has expanded globally and now owns around 260 data centres globally – including nine markets in Asia-Pacific – with top partners such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Oracle.
The Nasdaq-listed company has a market value of US$75.7 billion, LSEG data showed. Shares of the company are down 0.9 per cent so far this year.
In 2023, its net income rose to about US$969 million, from US$704.6 million in the prior year. Revenue rose to US$8.2 billion, from US$7.3 billion in the previous year. REUTERS