Mergers regulators have announced a full investigation of digital giant Equinix’s bid for BT Datacentres Ireland.
Equinix, which operates six data centres near Dublin, bid in January to buy rival BT Ireland’s two such facilities here.
The pair referred the deal to the State’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) for approval.
The commission said on Friday that it planned a full “phase two” investigation of the transaction, to ensure it does not hit commercial competition in the Irish date centre market.
“The CCPC has now decided a full investigation is needed to establish whether or not the result of the proposed transaction will be to substantially lessen competition in the State,” the regulator confirmed in a statement.
The commission carries out more detailed phase two investigations in cases where its first assessment cannot determine whether a transaction will affect commercial competition.
It has up to 120 working days to complete the process. Commission staff continue to collect evidence during this time and extend their analysis of the proposed deal.
The commission added that it could not comment further as the investigation was ongoing.
A phase two investigation does not mean that any deal is under threat, but the commission could impose conditions meant to safeguard competition on the parties before allowing a transaction.
Equinix is one of the biggest players globally in the data centre and digital infrastructure industry.
BT Datacentres Ireland is part of Irish division of British telecoms group, BT.
Both companies rent capacity in their Irish data centres to clients in the information technology, finance, media and other businesses.
Data centres are increasingly critical to businesses as the shift to digital continues.
BT Ireland said on Friday that the company “continues to co-operate with the CCPC in its review”.
Equinix said it would “continue to co-operate with the CCPC as it continues its review”.
