Equinix and CPP to Acquire atNorth for Nordic Data Centers
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Equinix have joined forces to acquire atNorth, a major Nordic data center provider, for a reported US$4 billion. The firms also provisionally agreed to a US$4.2 billion financing package to accelerate growth. The acquisition aims to meet rising demand for data center capacity from AI, hyperscale, and enterprise customers in key Nordic markets.
The deal builds on a prior relationship between the two investors; in 2024, CPP Investments and Equinix established a joint venture with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC to expand Equinix's xScale data center program. The atNorth acquisition will see CPP Investments take a controlling 60% stake with an investment of approximately US$1.6 billion, while Equinix will hold the remaining 40%. atNorth brings a significant Nordic footprint, including eight operational data centers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, with more under development. The company has a development pipeline of around 800 MW scheduled to come online in the next five years and has already secured an additional 1 GW of power for future growth. The Nordic region is a hotspot for data center development due to its access to abundant renewable energy, a cool climate ideal for reducing cooling costs, and stable power grids. This makes it particularly attractive for energy-intensive AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, a key target market for atNorth, which already has liquid cooling capabilities at several facilities. This acquisition significantly expands Equinix's presence in the Nordics, adding to its existing eight data centers in Helsinki and Stockholm. The move follows a pattern of European expansion for Equinix, which previously acquired TelecityGroup in 2016 and Itconic in 2017 to increase its footprint across the continent. The seller, Partners Group, acquired atNorth in 2022 with the vision of transforming it into a leading pan-Nordic provider. Under its ownership, atNorth expanded from its base in Iceland into Sweden and continued to grow to meet high market demand for sustainable and power-efficient data centers. The transaction will be funded in part by a provisional US$4.2 billion financing package from a syndicate of European and Canadian lenders. According to atNorth CEO Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, the company will continue to operate independently under its current brand following the acquisition.
