Airtrunk has been sold to private equity firm Blackstone for a whopping $23.5 billion.
👉 Background: Airtrunk was founded in 2015 with the goal of developing and operating hyperscale data centres globally. In 2020, a group led by Macquarie’s Infrastructure Fund acquired an 88% share in Airtrunk at a valuation of $3 billion.
👉 What happened: Over the past few years, data centres have blown up, with tech companies looking for more and more data centres to manage cloud computing and AI applications. Think: Microsoft, Amazon and more.
👉 What else: After a 12-month auction, Airtrunk has been sold to private equity firm Blackstone for a whopping $23.5 billion, which will set a new valuation benchmark for other data centre businesses too.
💡When a high-profile acquisition takes place, it can establish a new benchmark for all companies in the sector.
💡Given the enormous price tag on Airtrunk, its competitors may also see their valuations reassessed by investors. Airtrunk reportedly generated $1 billion in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. So this acquisition, at a 23.5x EBITDA could become the new benchmark for the industry.
💡The valuation of public and private companies often works in the same way as property auctions, where buyers and sellers use the most recent results as a reference point during negotiations. So a deal like this can have a huge impact on the broader data-centre market.
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