ISQ buys Mexican data centre operator KIO Networks ‘for $1bn’
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ISQ buys Mexican data centre operator KIO Networks ‘for $1bn’

Adil Rahmathulla ISQ.jpg

The private equity investor that owns HGC Global Communications and is bidding for GTT’s infrastructure is to buy Mexico’s largest data centre operator.

I Squared Capital (ISQ) will buy KIO Networks will buy 11 core data centre campuses and 11 edge facilities, with over 20MW of installed operational capacity.

ISQ, which has not stated the price it is paying for KIO, last year agreed to pay US$2.15 billion for GTT’s infrastructure, though that deal is stalled, and four years ago paid $1.9 billion to CK Hutchison for HGC Global Communications.

KIO Networks has data centres in Mexico, central America, the Caribbean and Spain, according to the company’s own website. Founded in 2002 with 100% Mexican capital, it now runs “more than 40 high-density and high-availability data centres”, says the site.

It is understood that KIO’s main shareholder was Tresalia Capital, the family investment office of María Asunción Aramburuzabala, a Mexican businesswoman. Reports last year said that Tresalia was looking for $1 billion for KIO.

Adil Rahmathulla (pictured, via Yale School of Management), managing partner at I Squared Capital, said: “Mexico is a core component of our Latin American strategy and this investment in KIO Networks continues our commitments to digital infrastructure, where we have committed over $3 billion across six investments around the world.”

KIO Networks provides infrastructure-related services through a robust and extensive platform of data centres, said ISQ. The company also offers managed services for cloud, cybersecurity, and business applications. It has clients in the hyperscaler, telco, technology, financial, corporate and government sectors.

ISQ said that “KIO’s robust set of assets, strong customer depth and diversification, and experienced management team, position the company to capture the rapid growth in demand for data storage and anchor the development of the I Squared Capital digital infrastructure strategy in Mexico and the rest of Latin America”.

Rahmathulla said: “Our global digital infrastructure portfolio connects millions of people across four continents through a diverse set of assets including data centres, fibre networks and cellular sites.”

 

 

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