Deal significantly scales Americas’ footprint to support interconnection as businesses increasingly seek to move IT operations to the digital edge
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 1, 2017 — Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today announced the completion of its acquisition of 29 data centers and their operations from Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ). The U.S. $3.6 billion all cash transaction includes over 1,000 customers, of which over 600 are net new, and approximately three million gross square feet of data center space, accelerating Equinix’s ability to help companies extend their IT operations to the digital edge through the interconnection of people, locations, clouds and data.
The acquisition of these strategic facilities further broadens Equinix’s capabilities by: strengthening interconnection density on the Equinix global platform; accelerating business relationships in the government and energy sectors; and supporting Equinix’s enterprise offering. Additionally, it adds three new markets (Bogotá, Culpeper and Houston) and provides additional capacity and the opportunity for expansion in markets where Equinix currently has a presence, including Atlanta, Denver, Miami, New York, São Paulo, Seattle and Silicon Valley.
Spread across 15 cities in North and Latin America, the new assets bring Equinix’s total global footprint to over 175 International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers across 44 markets and approximately 17 million gross square feet.
Quotes
Steve Smith, CEO, Equinix
“As the technological shift to digital is transforming large sections of society and the global economy, companies are re-architecting their IT infrastructure to thrive in this new environment. They are moving from traditional centralized infrastructure to a distributed model that keeps data closer to the customers, partners and employees using it. With this significant expansion of Equinix’s globally consistent footprint, our platform is even more valuable to companies that are leveraging this new model of interconnection at the digital edge.”
Karl Strohmeyer, President, Americas, Equinix
“Today is an important milestone in the growth of Equinix, as we significantly expand our operations in the Americas region. The 29 new data centers greatly expand our ability to enable global interconnection within our robust ecosystems, as the economies of North, Central and South America continue to thrive. I am especially thrilled to welcome over 250 new employees and the hundreds of new customers to the Equinix family.”
Highlights / Key Facts
- Of the over 1,000 customers in the 29 acquired data centers, more than 600 are net new to Equinix, including Fortune 1000 companies and federal and local government entities. Verizon will become a substantially larger customer following the close of the transaction and will remain a key partner of Equinix.
- The Miami NAP of the Americas (“NOTA”) (MI1) facility is a key interconnection point that will serve as a strategic hub and gateway for Equinix customer deployments servicing Latin America. As the fourth largest Internet exchange point in the U.S., it hosts the termination points of 15 subsea cable systems and more than 120 global networks interconnecting to approximately 150 countries. Combined with the newly acquired data centers in Bogotá and São Paulo, and Equinix’s substantial existing presence in Brazil, MI1 will strategically position Equinix in the growing Latin American market.
- The Culpeper, Virginia facilities (CU1, CU2, CU3 and CU4) represent one of the most secure and technologically sophisticated data center campuses in the eastern U.S. Designed to meet the highest government standards, these IBX data centers accelerate Equinix’s relationships in the government sector, strengthening Equinix as a platform of choice for government services and service providers.
- Approximately 250 Verizon employees, primarily in the operations functions of the 29 acquired data centers, have become Equinix employees effective today.
- As of Q1 2017, 83% of Equinix’s recurring revenue is from customers deployed in multiple metros, many of whom are looking to reach people, clouds and data at the edge by deploying at Equinix IBX data centers. With 29 new data centers and their customers, and the increased interconnection and expansion opportunities this brings, Equinix is strengthening its global market leadership and creating new opportunities to grow business ecosystems around the world.
- In March, Equinix and Verizon announced an agreement whereby Verizon will exclusively resell Equinix colocation and interconnection services globally. The agreement enables Verizon to pair Equinix’s services with Verizon’s security, network and advanced communications services to enable enterprises to build hybrid cloud solutions and gain quick access to a multi-cloud environment. [press release]
- The 29 new IBX data centers are in 15 metro areas. Equinix plans to tether the new sites to existing Equinix IBX data centers within metros via Equinix’s industry-leading interconnection products, thereby expanding Equinix’s core ecosystem value to customers in the newly acquired sites. The new locations include:
U.S.: Location (Metro) Verizon Site Name New Equinix IBX
NameAtlanta ATL1 AT4 Atlanta ATL2 (Norcross) AT5 Boston BOS1 (Billerica) BO2 Chicago ORD1 (Westmont) CH7 Culpeper IAD3 (Culpeper) CU1 Culpeper IAD3 (Culpeper) CU2 Culpeper IAD3 (Culpeper) CU3 Culpeper IAD3 (Culpeper) CU4 Dallas DFW1 (Irving) DA9 Dallas DFW2 (Richardson Alma) DA10 Denver DEN1 (Englewood) DE2 Houston IAH1 (Houston) HO1 Los Angeles LAX1 (Torrance) LA7 Miami MIA1 (Miami NOTA) MI1 Miami MIA2 (Doral) MI6 New York EWR1 (Carteret) NY11 New York EWR2 (Piscataway) NY12 New York LGA1 (Elmsford) NY13 Seattle SEA1 (Kent) SE4 Silicon Valley SJC2 (San Jose) SV13 Silicon Valley SJC3 (Santa Clara) SV14 Silicon Valley SJC3 (Santa Clara) SV15 Silicon Valley SJC3 (Santa Clara) SV16 Silicon Valley SJC3 (Santa Clara) SV17 Washington D.C. IAD1 (Ashburn) DC13 Washington D.C. IAD4 (Manassas) DC14 Washington D.C. IAD2 (Herndon) DC97
Latin America: São Paulo GRU1 (São Paulo NAP) SP4 Bogotá BOG1 (Bogotá NAP) BG1
Additional Resources
- Equinix Website Landing Page with Data Center Map, Photos and Additional Transaction Details [website]
- How the Equinix-Verizon Deal Expands Interconnection Opportunities Worldwide [blog post]
- Colocation-Based Interconnection Will Serve as the ‘Glue’ for Advanced Digital Business Applications [Gartner Report]
About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects the world’s leading businesses to their customers, employees and partners inside the most interconnected data centers. In 44 markets across five continents, Equinix is where companies come together to realize new opportunities and accelerate their business, IT and cloud strategies. www.equinix.com.
