Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

and Equinix Inc. have agreed to acquire atNorth Holding AB, a pan-Nordic data centre operator owned by Partners Group Holding AG.

The deal values atNorth at US$4 billion including debt, according to a statement Friday that confirmed a Bloomberg News report. CPPIB will invest about US$1.6 billion and own roughly 60% of atNorth. Equinix will hold the remainder.

Private equity

firms and infrastructure investors have been rushing to put money into data centers amid the

artificial intelligence

boom, even as the technology disrupts other parts of their portfolios.

“There’s long-term demand that underpins data centers, driven by enterprise and cloud demand, plus the growth of agentic AI and training, James Bryce, head of infrastructure at CPP Investments, said in an interview. “We have high conviction this will continue.”

Iceland-based atNorth has eight operational data centres alongside several sites under development across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Partners Group bought the company in 2022 for an undisclosed amount. In a separate statement, the Swiss alternatives firm said the sale will result in 2.5x multiple on the capital invested for its clients.

Esther Peiner, head of private infrastructure at Partners Group, said the firm would keep some exposure to atNorth.

“This business has the potential to grow 4-5x over the next five years, and we intend to retain some exposure to the business by co-investing alongside CPPIB,” Peiner said in an interview.

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The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to Equinix’s adjusted funds from operations upon completion, according to Friday’s statement.

Bloomberg News reported previously that Digital Realty Trust Inc. was also among bidders for atNorth.

Bloomberg.com