CyrusOne acquired by KKR and GIP in US$15bn deal

CyrusOne, a premier global data centre  REIT, has been bought by KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”), one of the world’s leading infrastructure investors, in a deal worth US$15bn. KKR and GIP will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of CyrusOne for US$90.50 per share.

The US$90.50 per share purchase price reflects a premium of approximately 25% to CyrusOne’s unaffected closing stock price on September 27, 2021, the last full trading day prior to published market speculation regarding a potential sale of the Company.

“This transaction is a testament to the tremendous work by the entire CyrusOne team. We have built one of the world’s leading data centre companies with a presence across key U.S. and international markets supporting our customers’ mission-critical digital infrastructure requirements while creating significant value for our stockholders,” said Dave Ferdman, Co-Founder and interim President and Chief Executive Officer of CyrusOne. “KKR and GIP will provide substantial additional resources and expertise to accelerate our global expansion and help us deliver the timely and reliable solutions at scale that our customers value.”

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a robust strategic review process conducted by the CyrusOne Board of Directors to determine the best path forward for the company and maximise stockholder value,” said Lynn Wentworth, Chair of the CyrusOne Board of Directors. “This transaction provides CyrusOne stockholders with significant value and simultaneously positions the company to even better serve its customers to meet their needs in key markets around the world.”

“CyrusOne has built one of the strongest data centre companies in the world and has a strong track record of development and operational expertise in addition to delivering best-in-class service to its customers. We are excited to work together with the Company’s proven team to build on CyrusOne’s market leadership and support their customers’ growing data center infrastructure requirements,” said Waldemar Szlezak, Managing Director at KKR, and Will Brilliant, Partner at GIP. “We see numerous opportunities ahead to continue expanding CyrusOne’s footprint across key global digital gateway markets and look forward to leveraging our global resources, access to long term capital and deep expertise to support the Company’s growth.”

Transaction approvals and timing 

The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the CyrusOne Board of Directors, is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by CyrusOne stockholders.

Upon completion of the transaction, CyrusOne will be a privately held company wholly owned by KKR and GIP and CyrusOne’s common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. KKR’s investment is being made primarily from its global infrastructure and real estate equity strategies, and GIP’s investment is being made from its global infrastructure funds.