Manulife Investment Management, on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II, has completed the acquisition of data center company Serverfarm.
Manulife's intention to acquire a majority stake in Serverfarm was first announced in May 2023.
Neither the size of the stake nor the value of the deal has been shared though NantCapital LLC will retain a "significant ownership interest in Serverfarm" as will Avner Papouchado, CEO of Serverfarm.
Papouchado will also retain his role as CEO despite the ownership change.
The funding provided by the acquisition, as well as additional funding from NantCapital LLC, is planned by Serverfarm to enable the company to expand its data center portfolio and continue the market research for its data center management as a service (DMaaS) platform, InCommand.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. served as lead financial advisor, TD Securities (USA) LLC as financial advisor, and Dentons US LLP and Alston & Bird LLP as legal counsel to Serverfarm.
TAP Advisors LLC was the financial advisor, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Manulife Investment Management.
"We are excited to be joining the next chapter of Serverfarm's growth," said Recep Kendircioglu, global head of infrastructure, Manulife Investment Management. "Avner and the Serverfarm team have built a powerful platform and strong customer relationships. With this transaction, Serverfarm is even more well-positioned to serve customers' increasing demands for data center capacity."
"With Manulife Investment Management's support, we will accelerate Serverfarm's growth strategy in existing and new markets," said Serverfarm CEO Papouchado. "It is also an investment in Serverfarm's continuing commitment to customer growth through partnership by meeting their individual data center objectives across CapEx, OpEx, efficiency, and sustainability."
Serverfarm, founded in 2009 by real estate development firm Red Sea Group, currently operates eight data center centers across North America, Europe, and Israel with a total of 1.5 million gross sq ft (139,400 sqm) of data center space and 125MW of IT capacity. The company has reportedly acquired land for future data center developments.
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and assessment management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. The company has previously invested in APAC real estate investment firm Arch Capital which has a data center platform, and invested $150 million in Sabey Data Centers.
