Equinix snaps up 13 Bell Canada data centres in multi-million dollar deal

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Equinix has unveiled a $750 million takeover of 13 data centres owned by Bell Canada as it launches a significant North American expansion.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and scheduled for completion later this year. It is expected to generate $105 million in ‘annualised revenue’, meaning Equinix is paying a revenue multiple of just over 7x.

The data centre company, which leases its infrastructure to businesses and also provides services ranging from heating and cooling to wiring and racks, has registered a top-line expansion for 69 successive quarters.

Inorganic growth

Strategic acquisitions have been a key driver of Equinix’s consistent revenue growth over the past decade, helping the company to expand into new markets. For instance, the firm paid $3.6 billion to acquire 29 data centres from one of Bell Canada’s US counterparts, Verizon, in 2017, capitalising on the trend of telecom operators divesting data centres.

The purchase of the Bell Canada assets will enable Equinix to strengthen its footprint in Canada, the world’s 10th biggest economy, which it entered into over a decade ago. The deal gives Equinix access to 600 customers—including 500 net new—who currently use the Bell data centres.

Jon Lin, president of the company’s Americas arm, told TechCrunch that Equinix would leverage its bigger scale in Canada to help local companies to accelerate their digital transformation journeys amid the pandemic and ongoing economic crisis.

“Equinix has been serving the Canadian market in Toronto for more than a decade," he said. "This expansion and scale gives the Canadian market a clear and rapid migration path to digital transformation. We’re looking forward to deepening our relationships with our existing Canada-based customers and helping new companies throughout the country position themselves for digital success,”