Gnomon Capital has acquired all business shares of the DC North data center, a highly secure facility known as the ‘Croatian Fort-Knox’, according to an announcement by the firm’s lawyers on Tuesday (9 June).

In the statement, which has since been taken down, law firm Scheonherr said that its client had purchased 100 percent of the shares from cloud operator Cratis and manufacturing company Muraplast.

Croatia’s court register records show that Cratis and Muraplast ceased as company members, and Gnomon Capital became one, on 27 May.

DC North’s share capital is listed as €1,451,120 ($1.7 million). DC North and Gnomon Capital were approached for comment.

Cratis opened DC North in Varaždin, north of Croatia, in November 2023. The company said at the time it was the largest carrier-neutral data center in the country.

The 4MW facility spans 21,500 sq ft (2,000 sqm) of IT space with six IT rooms, each equipped with 104 racks.

Cratis said DC North is built to withstand earthquakes of up to magnitude nine on the Richter scale and has the highest security standards.

The facility is located at the intersection of three redundant optical crossroads, including Slovenia, Hungary, and Austria, and is the second most important data exchange point in Croatia, according to Cratis.

The cloud operator said that it is the only certified data center in Croatia located outside of Zagreb.

The data center’s inauguration in 2023 was attended by Croatia’s president, Zoran Milanović, and other high-ranking officials.

“In today's world, we cannot live without this type of service,” Milanović said at the opening ceremony on 24 November 2023. “This is a matter of national security, control of processes, finances, personal property, and bank accounts, without which we cannot function normally.”

Croatia is emerging as a strategic hub for European digital infrastructure driven by its high-voltage grid capacity and strategic location between Western European and Balkan countries.

There are currently 17 data centers listed in Croatia.

Last month, US investment group Pantheon Atlas announced plans for an up to €12 billion ($14.1bn) hyperscale AI data center and innovation campus in Topusko, south of Zagreb.

Liechtenstein-based Gnomon Capital is a private equity firm focused on technology and fintech investments.

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