Equinix has completed the formation of a $1bn joint venture with its Singaporean sovereign wealth fund partner, GIC.

The JV, which does not have a formal name, will develop and operate hyperscale-focused data centers in Europe. Equinix's London based LD10 and Parisian PA8 IBX data centers will be sold to the JV to get it off the ground. Four additional 'xScale' data centers are expected to be built in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London, all within 500 meters of existing Equinix IBX facilities.'

Expect more JVs

GIC's investment buys the Singaporean fund an 80 percent stake in the venture, while Equinix will gain 20 percent from its contribution of the LD10 and PA8 IBX sale.

Equinix, which will manage and operate the data centers, will also gain some net cash proceeds from the sale, and will receive funds through additional equity contributions.

Charles Meyers, president and CEO, Equinix said: "The formation of our JV with GIC is a strategic milestone for Equinix as we continue to deepen our relationships with the world's largest cloud and hyperscale companies... We look forward to launching similar JVs in other operating regions."

In an interview earlier this year, Equinix's chief strategy and development officer Eric Schwartz told DCD: "Our strategy is still very focused on the retail and interconnection, we are comfortable that we can support these xScale facilities in dealing with a limited number of customers," with xScale only available to 12 hyperscale companies.

With the JV now finalized, Equinix is eyeing further opportunities. "Our first estimate that we put out was about $5 billion of investment over several years. And if all goes well, it could be more," Schwartz said. "We have opportunities for the next step already in the pipeline, some in Europe, some in Asia, some in the Americas."