The data center division of French Investment managers AXA IM has finalized the acquisition of a ¥22bn ($211m) data center in Tokyo's Kota Ward.

At 20,000 sq m (215,000 sq ft) and housing 2,560 data racks, the facility is one of Tokyo’s largest facilities and neighbors companies like Equinix and Colt. According to AXA IM - Real Assets, the facility is built to the highest specifications and ESG measures for lower energy consumption.

Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.jpg
According to AXA, the facility will be one of the largest in Tokyo, Japan – Getty Images

Big in Japan

Based out of the Koto Ward, South Tokyo, the facility is not far from Tokyo’s financial district and the data center can be utilized for both cloud services and networking purposes.

Laurent Jacquemin, head of Asia-Pacific at AXA IM - Real Assets, said: “This acquisition offered the rare opportunity to purchase a large scale and high quality, strategically located data center in a market suffering from a chronic lack of supply, with just two other data centers offering over 10,000 sq m (raised floor space) in the district.

“The investment aligns well with our global strategy to invest in institutional quality long-term assets with income underpinned by structural changes to society, such as those within the digital infrastructure sector, where demand for data storage, in particular, has been further exacerbated by the widespread adoption of remote working and expanding e-commerce penetration as a result of the global pandemic.”

In 2018, the operator Data4 was acquired by AXA from American investment management firm Colony Capital. Data4 was established by Colony Capital in 2006.

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