French telco Orange could be looking to sell off part of its data center footprint, while European operator NorthC might also have a for sale sign outside the door.

In a report in the Financial Times this week, the publication suggests French telecoms company Orange could be looking to sell a stake in several of its data centers in France, while European data center firm NorthC could be for sale.

Orange looks to sell stakes in France?

Citing people familiar with the process, the FT reports Orange is looking to sell a stake in multiple data centers in France.

Orange owns around 75 data centers across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. According to DataCenterMap, the company has at least five data centers in France, and is present in a number of other colocation facilities around Paris.

The company launched facilities in Amilly, in the Centre-Val de Loire region, and in Val-de-Reuil, in Normandy, in 2022. It previously launched another Normandy facility in 2012. A facility in Chartres launched in 2020.

In 2022, the company said its 17 legacy data centers in France would be closed and consolidated to its newer facilities by 2030.

Other Orange data center locations include Strasbourg, Grenoble, and Aubervilliers.

Orange also runs France’s copper network, which has its own footprint of telephone exchanges. The company is set to shut its copper network by 2030.

Earlier this year, the firm said it would look to scale and open up its data centers to more third-parties, in the same way its towers now host hardware from other telecoms provider – saying its objective was “not to sell these assets for cash.”

Orange also has ground stations across 26 countries and territories worldwide, including a teleport in France at Bercenay-en-Othe. The firm leases capacity from satellite operators such as Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES, and Arabsat.

Previously known as France Telecom, Orange was France’s state-owned monopoly telco, with roots back to the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs in the 1870s. Its monopoly ended around 1998.

Orange declined to comment to the FT.

NorthC for sale?

NorthC, a European data center firm, could be up for sale.

Deutsche Bank’s asset manager DWS reportedly wants to raise about €2 billion ($2.31bn) from the sale of NorthC.

NorthC was formed in 2019 from the merger of Dutch data center firms TDCG and NLDC, originally a subsidiary of Dutch telecoms company KPN.

In recent years, it has begun expanding to other European countries, buying Netrics in Switzerland and the IP Exchange in Germany. It recently acquired a number of facilities across the Netherlands and Germany from Colt Technology Services.

The company currently has more than a dozen data centers across the Netherlands, eight in Germany, and four in Switzerland, with more in development in all three markets.

Founded in 1956 and formerly known as Deutsche Asset Management, DWS is a German asset management company. It previously operated as part of Deutsche Bank until 2018, when it was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Deutsche Bank retains a majority stake in the firm.

The companies declined to comment to the FT.