FYI, Equinix has started some M&A activity in the space by...

FYI, Equinix has started some M&A activity in the space by announcing yesterday that they're acquiring two data centres located in Mumbai from GPX Global Systems

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Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) has announced its expansion into India through the acquisition of the India operations of GPX Global Systems.The transaction was valued at $161 million and the acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2021, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.The acquisition will extend Platform Equinix to India with the addition of two interconnected data centres, and Equinix customers will have access to a network-dense data centre campus with more than 200 international brands and local companies.Both data centres are located in Mumbai, home to the critical IT infrastructure of numerous global organisations and with international connectivity serviced by subsea cables at landing sites located nearby."India represents the second largest internet user base in the world, with consumption expected to grow with the continued advancement of internet infrastructure, smartphone ownership and the penetration of 4G and 5G,” said Charles Meyers, President and CEO, Equinix.“Extending Platform Equinix to India has long been a strategic objective for Equinix and we are excited that the GPX transaction will allow us to capitalise on this market opportunity and meet the needs of our customers as they seek to expand their digital businesses.“The acquisition of GPX's business in India means we are able to make a giant leap forward in terms of growing our ecosystem in India, and gives us a solid foundation for rapid growth and expansion in the country.“This acquisition follows the recent announcement of our planned expansion in Canada and is a testament to our continued focus on expanding our global reach as companies continue to view interconnection at the digital edge as a business imperative."Under the agreement, Equinix intends to acquire GPX India's business consisting of a fibre-connected campus in Mumbai with two data centres, adding more than 1,350 cabinets, with an additional 500 cabinets at full buildout.The facilities will add more than 90,000 sqf of colocation space to Platform Equinix when fully built.GPX India offers a cloud dense environment and access to major cloud services, including Amazon Direct Connect, Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect."Over the years, we have consistently received high levels of interest from our customers about servicing their interconnection needs in India,” said Jeremy Deutsch, President, Equinix Asia-Pacific.“Today's announcement will further strengthen our leadership position in the Asia-Pacific region and directly meet the stated needs of our global customers to support them as they invest and expand in India.“With McKinsey identifying India as the second fastest growing digital economy, more and more Indian companies will begin to embark on their digital transformation journeys, driving up the demand for data centre and interconnection services in the country.“As major cloud players establish themselves in the market, this move will provide enterprises with the infrastructure they need to embrace rapidly growing trends such as hybrid multi-cloud and digitization and the ability to interconnect with people, locations, cloud services and data across the world to digitally transform their businesses."
Platform Equinix comprises more than 210 data centres across 56 metros and 26 countries, providing data centre and interconnection services for over 9,500 businesses."We are excited that this acquisition will enable us to join a global leader in the interconnection and data centre industry that's fully aligned with our value proposition,” said Manoj Paul, Managing Director, GPX Global Systems, India Ltd.“This acquisition will allow our customers to expand across the region and globally via Platform Equinix. Equinix has been highly successful with enterprises worldwide, the segment that is complementary with our existing customer base of carriers, content and cloud service providers.“The appetite from global companies for expansion into India is matched by local interest in expanding overseas.“This creates a thriving marketplace and by integrating our data centres with Platform Equinix, our customers will have access to a global interconnection platform that can accelerate their business and connect them with customers and partners across the world."