DigitalBridge Group is to divest a controlling stake in Vantage SDC (Stabilized Data Centers), a company set up to hold stabilized data centers operated by Vantage.
The digital infrastructure investment firm this week announced it no longer holds a controlling financial interest in Vantage SDC and will deconsolidate Vantage SDC effective December 31, 2023.
The news comes after the “execution of a series of agreements,” including the conversion of certain earnout payments to investors into equity interests, and the modification of certain governance rights of Vantage SDC.
Vantage SDC is a portfolio of 13 hyperscale data centers serving four North American markets and is managed and operated by Vantage Data Centers.
Going forward, Digital Bridge’s 12.8 percent ownership interest in Vantage SDC – diluted from 13.1 percent as part of this transaction – will be carried under ‘Investments’ on the company’s balance sheet.
Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge, said: “I am pleased to report that today we are a pure-play alternative asset manager, fully aligned with our investment partners to drive long-term returns powered by the secular demand for digital infrastructure and our history of building value in the sector."
He continued: "With the deconsolidation of Vantage SDC, we achieved a key 2023 objective, simplifying our business profile and reporting structure, while continuing to maintain financial exposure to Vantage SDC’s high-quality data center assets serving key power-constrained North American markets.”
DigitalBridge first announced it intended to sell a minority stake in Vantage in March 2023, and in April 2023 formed an investment consortium for Vantage EMEA operations featuring MEAG and Infranity.
Late last year AustralianSuper invested €1.5 billion ($1.6bn) in Vantage EMEA. This week saw Silver Lake and DigitalBridge invest $6.4 billion into Vantage Data Centers.
