Keppel in deal to acquire Frankfurt data centre for S$116.8m

KEPPEL Data Centres Holding Pte Ltd (KDCH), in a tie-up with the Alpha Data Centre Fund (Alpha DC Fund), has entered into a real estate and asset purchase agreement to acquire a data centre in Europe's key Internet exchange of Frankfurt for a purchase consideration of 76 million euros (S$116.8 million).

This marks the first acquisition for the Alpha DC Fund since it achieved first closing in July 2016.

The Alpha DC Fund is managed by Alpha Investment Partners.

Upon the expected completion of the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2016, the Alpha DC Fund and KDCH will own 60 per cent and 40 per cent interest in the data centre respectively.

KDCH is a 70-30 joint venture between Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation and Keppel Land, while Alpha Investment Partners is a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Capital Holdings Pte Ltd. KDCH will be funding the acquisition through borrowings and/or internal resources.

To be named Keppel DC Frankfurt 1 (KDC FRA 1), the two-storey facility is sited on a freehold land in Am Martinzehnten Industrial Park, which is in close proximity to the city centre and Frankfurt Airport. Frankfurt is also the home of the DE-CIX Internet Exchange, the world's largest Internet exchange, ensuring low-latency and high-quality connectivity.

KDC FRA 1 features a gross floor area of about 20,000 square metres and is fitted out to Uptime Tier III-equivalent specifications. The partially occupied facility can currently support an IT load of 4.8MW.

With additional investment and planning consent, the facility will be able to draw additional power up to 40MVA to meet growing demand for quality data centre space in Germany.

KDCH and/or its affiliates are expected to be appointed to provide development and management services in respect of the operation of the facility.

The facility will provide high availability data centre services to a leading global financial institution, which will use approximately 25 per cent of the data centre space, with an option for further expansion.