Dataplex secures $100m investment led by Dubai’s Damac Group

Data centre developer Dataplex has secured a $100 million (€85.8 million) investment led by Dubai's Damac Group.

Damac has taken a 45 per cent stake in the company, which is chaired by Irish telecoms entrepreneur Colm Piercy. As part of the transaction the companies have agreed a new partnership to focus on brownfield projects in Europe involving retrofitting existing structures, and larger greenfield projects, with specific focus on hyperscale and wholesale collocation customers.

Industry sources said the initial investment could be worth considerably more in the years to come.

Dataplex recently commenced the planning process on a new campus in Abbotstown, Dublin, that will accommodate data centre facilities together with a light industrial and logistics park.

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Founded in 2011 and part-owned by Mr Piercy's Chirisa Investments, and Kilon Holdings, Dataplex is focused on building and operating data centre facilities in Europe. It has a number of projects actively under development in Ireland, Britain and Malta.

Vision

"Damac Group has a unique vision for the data centre market, and we look forward to helping it to bring its disruptive model to more cities around the world. Together with Damac Group, we can deliver digital infrastructure in underserved markets and support the growth of local digital economies," said Eddie Kilbane, cofounder and chief executive of Dataplex.

Damac is the private investment arm of Hussain Sajwani, the Dubai-based billionaire, known primarily for the property development company, Damac Properties. Earlier this year, it made its foray into the data centre industry by launching Edgnex, a global digital infrastructure company headquartered in Dubai.

“Our work with Dataplex enables us to serve exponential demand coming from local markets, driven by rapid digital transformation, booming digital economies, and growing internet users,” said Mr Sajwani.

In addition to its shareholding in Dataplex, Chirisa Investments's portfolio also includes Digiweb, Viatel, Dataplex and Clyde Real Estate, the commercial property group led by former presidential candidate and Dragons' Den investor Seán Gallagher.