Merger to create ‘largest independent’ Netherlands data centre player
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Merger to create ‘largest independent’ Netherlands data centre player

Data center group and NL DC picture (2)s.jpg

A global asset management company will merge two data centre companies to form the largest independent provider in the Netherlands.

DWS’s acquisition of the two Dutch data centre companies, The Datacentre Group (TDCG) and NLDC, is on behalf of its European infrastructure fund. The merger will create what is claimed to be a leading national data centre player that will grow into international markets.

DWS, TDCG and NLDC have not revealed financial details or if there will be a new name for the merged outfit. DWS is a German listed company that is majority owned by Deutsche Bank.

TDCG's four data centres and NLDC's six (pictured) are located in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Delft, Utrecht, Groningen and Eindhoven. These locations cover nearly 50,000 square metres and have 65MW of power capacity. 

DWS’s infrastructure business acquired NLDC from Dutch telco KPN earlier this year but decided to go forward with the merger after taking a majority stake in TDCG.

“Both companies have high-quality and geographically diverse assets, providing an attractive co-location offering,” said Hamish Mackenzie, head of infrastructure at DWS. “The new combination is excellently positioned to support clients.”

TDCG announced: “The merger will create a leading national player in the Dutch market, serving corporates, government, cloud and IT providers and enterprises through a substantial footprint in Amsterdam, but also via growing regional hubs. DWS is a long-term investor in infrastructure and has the resources to accelerate the merged company’s national and international growth ambitions.”

It added that the merger will be completed “in the coming months”. DWS announced its acquisition of NLDC in May, forecasting its completion for the third quarter of 2019.

“The two companies know the world of the colocation, connectivity as well as private and public cloud well,” said Claartje Mangert, managing director of NLDC. “We deliver colocation directly to end-users such as hospitals, schools, municipalities, ministries and companies and indirect via system integrators. This positions our companies well to offer independent advice about the best route to the hybrid cloud.”

Siemon van den Berg, founder and CEO of TDCG, will retain a minority stake in the merged company and will continue to support its strategic development as a member of the supervisory board. The other founder of TDCG, Ali Niknam, has sold his shares to DWS.

Today’s news of the merger followed an acquisition announcement made by TDCG yesterday. It agreed to buy the data centre infrastructure of NovoServe in the cities of Doetinchem and Enschede, both in the east of the country.

TDCG’s current locations in Amsterdam, Delft, Utrecht and Rotterdam provide coverage in the greater Amsterdam area.

Commenting on the acquisition, Edwin Kennedy, chief commercial officer at TDCG, said the companies were taking steps to match the strong increase in demand for hybrid cloud.

“Gartner research from last year shows that businesses on average have only housed 10 to 20% of their IT in the cloud. This will grow to 80 to 90% within a few years. We are currently at the tipping point,” he said.

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