Sustainable Data Center M&A: Aligned Acquires ODATA for Latin America Expansion

Aligned Data Centers has completed the acquisition of Latin America data center provider ODATA. Roughly 85% to 90% of the energy consumed by ODATA is renewable. The M&A deal was first announced in December 2022. Financial terms were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number 57 that we have covered so far in 2023. See all of the sustainable technology buyers, sellers & investors listed here.

Aligned Data Centers is backed by private equity firm Macquarie Asset Management. For this deal, Aligned received a structured minority investment in ODATA from funds managed by SDC Capital Partners (SDC).

Sustainable Data Center M&A: About the Seller and Buyer

ODATA, a Brazilian data center company, was previously owned by Patria Infrastructure Fund III. ODATA operates data centers across Brazil, Columbia, Mexico and Chile. The acquired business will now operate as ODATA, an Aligned Data Centers Company, led by CEO Ricardo Alário.

ODATA is marching toward 100% green energy consumption. Toward that end, ODATA in Mach 2023 acquired a minority stake in Omega Energia’s 212 MW wind farm in Bahia, Brazil. Moreover, the company leverages outdoor conditions to reduce electrical consumption. The approach involves switching off the chiller compressors and cooling with ambient air. In this way, it is possible to reduce waste and energy consumption on colder days, which helps to improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

Aligned Data Centers, founded in 2013, is based in Plano, Texas. The company had 199 employees listed on LinkedIn as of May 23, 2023. The technology infrastructure company markets sustainable data centers for hyperscale customers and enterprise customers across the Americas. Key focus areas include PUE -- which reduces the energy, water and space needed to operate data centers. Aligned now has 40 data centers that offer 2.5 GW of capacity.

Sustainable Data Center M&A: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, Aligned Data Centers CEO Andrew Schaap said: “Driven largely by the needs of hyperscale companies, cloud service providers, and government customers, the demand for energy-efficient and scalable infrastructure continues its upward trajectory across Latin America. Joining forces with an incumbent data center provider whose focus on strategic scale, thoughtful innovation, and sustainable design could not be better timed.“

Added ODATA CEO Ricardo Alário Arantes: “Our customers will continue to receive the same reliable, scalable and flexible data center solutions they have come to expect as we continue our commitment to operational excellence in what represents an exciting new era of growth for both organizations. The acquisition immediately expands not only our data center infrastructure and capacity portfolio, but the capital and capabilities to help our customers grow at scale across the Americas, supported by an advanced supply chain methodology and refined land and power-first strategy that accelerate speed-to-market at a velocity that is otherwise unknown in our business.”

Sustainable Data Centers: Market Growth, Forecast and Milestones

Demand for sustainable data centers appears strong. Indeed, global spending on green data centers is expected to reach $267 billion by 2032, which represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% from 2021, according to Persistence Market Research.

With that growth opportunity in mind, numerous data center providers worldwide are pursing net zero and sustainable energy strategies.

Cloud-scale players such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure each have made major sustainability commitments. Regional data center providers are also making moves. A few examples:

• United States: Climate Adaptive Infrastructure (CAI), through a relationship with DigitalBridge, plans to invest up to $300 million in sustainable digital infrastructure. The first investment involves Switch, a 100% renewable-powered data center provider.
• Africa: Raxio Data Centres has lined up a US$170 million debt facility to further expand operations across Africa. The twist? The debt facility -- involving Roha Group, Meridiam, Proparco and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund -- is tied to various sustainability and ESG (environmental, social & governance) goals.
• Brazil: Scala Data Centers has achieved 100% Scope 3, as recommended by the GHG Protocol.
• Europe: AQ Compute and CBRE in 2022 partnered as part of a push to make AQ Compute a "pan-European leader in providing global clients with data centre services." All of the AQ Compute data centers are expected to leverage 100 % renewable energy, the companies said.
• Europe: Alces Flight and EcoDataCenter partnered to provide customers with "best-of-breed managed services and sustainable computing for their private research clouds," the two companies said.