Sunday, May 9, 2021

Switch expands data center fleet to 16 with Data Foundry acquisition

Switch agreed to acquire Data Foundry, a carrier-neutral colocation provider with data centers in Austin and Houston, for $420 million in an all cash transaction. The acquisition is expected to close by mid-2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The purchase price of $420 million represents approximately 19x estimated 2021 Adjusted EBITDA, including $2 million of projected run-rate cost synergies. 

Data Foundry’s Austin campus includes three current facilities with expansion capabilities up to 44 MW at full buildout. The Houston campus has one existing data center with the ability to support 18 MW of customer power at full buildout. Switch intends to commence development on new data centers in both Austin and Houston at the end of 2021, with the first sectors available for customer deployments in 2023.

The acquisition of Data Foundry expands the Switch portfolio to 16 operational data centers across six locations and will anchor the company’s Fifth Prime data center campus. The acquisition will also add over 400 customer logos, offering robust cross-selling opportunities and the potential for significant customer expansion.

“We are extremely pleased to reach an agreement with Data Foundry and to announce the launch of our Fifth Prime Data Center Campus in Texas,” said Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy. “The Data Foundry acquisition extends Switch’s national reach and enhances our ability to serve Texas and the Central U.S. region with low latency connectivity, while also providing critical geographic and revenue diversification with robust expansion potential to accelerate long-term growth and value creation.”

“Data Foundry is proud to partner with Rob Roy and the Switch team in this transaction that we believe will carry forward our company’s rich history of innovation in Texas, and will result in tremendous long-term benefits to our customers and all stakeholders of the combined business,” said Carolyn and Ron Yokubaitis, Co-Founders of Data Foundry. “Both companies share a set of core values that emphasize technology leadership, operational excellence, community involvement, and a relentless focus on customer service that will enable a seamless transition of leadership and continued success for years to come,” added Jonah Yokubaitis, also a Co-Founder of Data Foundry.

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