The number of data centre M&A is on the rise and is forecast to continue rising over the next five years.
Data from Synergy Research Group shows 52 data centre-related mergers and acquisitions closed in the first half of calendar year 2019.
According to John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group, the data reveals that more and more businesses do not want to own or operate their own data centres.
“As enterprises either shift workloads to cloud providers or use colocation facilities to house their IT infrastructure, more and more data centres are being put up for sale,” Dinsdale said.
“This in turn is driving change in the colocation market, with industry giants on a never-ending quest to grow their global footprint and a constant ebb and flow of ownership among small local players. We expect to see a lot more data centre M&A over the next five years.”
Looking at the last four years of data, Synergy Research Group analysis found over 300 deals were closed with a total value of over $65 billion, with public companies making up 57 percent of deal value and private equity buyers making up 53 per cent of deal volume.
One trend 2019 has defied so far is the multi-billion dollar deal, with none registered at this point. In comparison, 2017 and 2018 saw a total of 11 multi-billion deals.
Meanwhile, the last four years also revealed Equinix and Digital Realty have been the largest investors, accounting for 36 per cent of total deal value over the data period.
Eight deals have already closed since the beginning of the second half of the year, with a further 14 agreed upon but yet to close.
