Goodman Group has teamed up with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) to establish a €8 billion (US$9.4bn) European data center partnership.

The 50/50 venture will see the companies commit an initial €2.2bn (US$2.59bn) to develop a portfolio of data center projects across Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris.

The Goodman European Data Centre Development Partnership will comprise four projects totalling 435MW of primary power and 282MW of IT load, including two in Paris (PAR01 and PAR02), one in Frankfurt (FRA02), and one in Amsterdam (AMS01).

“We are pleased to expand our longstanding partnership with Goodman Group and establish a strong European foothold in the data center sector across key Tier 1 markets, aligned with our global data center strategy. By combining Goodman’s extensive development capabilities and powered landbank, with our global expertise in digital infrastructure investments, this partnership allows us to capitalise on a compelling growth opportunity for the long-term benefit of CPP contributors and beneficiaries,” said Max Biagosch, senior managing director and global head of real assets at CPP Investments.

According to the partners, all projects have secured power connections, planning permits, and have substantially progressed site infrastructure works, which they claim will enable construction commencement by 30 June 2026.

“A portfolio of this size and quality – located in Europe’s FLAP markets – is rare. These powered locations are highly sought after to meet the rapidly growing requirement for cloud computing and AI adoption, particularly when they offer speed to market and delivery certainty. The quality and scale of this partnership make it ideal for our long-term relationship with CPP Investments. We’re pleased to be investing alongside them for their entry into the European data center market,” said Greg Goodman, CEO of Goodman Group.

The transaction will follow a phased approach with completion expected by March 2026, subject to closing conditions. The two companies have had a relationship since 2009, with investments across Australia, Asia, the Americas, and Europe.

CPP has made several significant investments in the digital infrastructure space. Most recently, in August, it announced an investment of C$225m (US$160m) to facilitate the expansion of a data center in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

CPP Investments made its first direct data center investment in 2017. Last November, it invested KRW 1 trillion (US$711m) in a joint venture with Pacific Asset Management Company to develop hyperscale data centers in South Korea, adding to an existing portfolio of joint ventures and investments across Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, and Canada.

Goodman Group is an Australian commercial property firm. Over the past few years, it has steadily expanded its data center business. It now has data center projects in operation or development across Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, the US, France, and Japan.