PriceSensitive

BCE sells data centres to Equinix for $1B

Telecommunication
TSX:BCE
01 June 2020 14:08 (EDT)
BCE Inc - President and CEO, Mirko Bibic

Source: La Presse

Cananda’s largest communications company, BCE (TSX:BCE) is selling 25 data centres to Equinix Inc, in an all-cash deal valued at C$1.04 billion.

Through the acquisition, Equinix will also acquire 13 sites, which house the data centres and were previously owned by BCE.

Once the deal finalises, BCE will continue to operate its five remaining data centres, located in Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, and Toronto.

Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE, believes Equinix is the right company to progress the data centres moving forward.

“Equinix, with its expanding platform of data centres here in Canada and worldwide, is well-positioned to maximize the opportunities these facilities represent for Canadian businesses in an increasingly global and interconnected data sector.

“This transaction reinforces BCE’s strategy to focus investment on the network infrastructure, content and services necessary to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world,” he said.

Mirko went on to say that the sale underscores BCE’s commitment to customer experience as Canada begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pending regulatory approval, the two companies expect the sale to close sometime in the second half of 2020.

In tandem with the sale, Equinix has named BCE’s Bell Business Markets as its first Plantium Partner in Canada. Through the designation, Bell Business Markets will gain access to Equinix’s internationally integrated network and cloud storage solutions.

Tom Little, President of Bell Business Markets, said he looks forward to working with Equinix and ensuring Canada remains a world leader in digital technologies.

BCE Inc (BCE) is down 0.28 per cent and is trading at $57.07 at 1:59pm EDT.

Related News