Equinix to acquire BT’s datacentre business in Ireland

BT Group Plc and Equinix today announced that Equinix has agreed to acquire BT’s datacentre business in Ireland, which includes two datacentres in CityWest and Ballycoolin, Dublin. The EUR59 million transaction is expected to complete during the first half of 2025, subject to competition and regulatory clearance.

The transaction follows a review of assets in Ireland and includes two optimally located, well-invested, and carrier-neutral facilities of approximately 150,000 gross square feet combined, a highly experienced team, and global as well as Irish customers.

BT’s asset-light strategy internationally includes a transition away from owning and operating datacentre facilities, towards partnering with globally scaled organisations. This asset-light strategy and partnership approach for datacentre services gives BT a much more commercially scalable and flexible model that delivers multiple benefits to customers with services available in over 560 locations worldwide.

Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland said, “This announcement with Equinix marks an exciting new chapter for our datacentre business in Ireland. The deal builds on our existing successful partnership with Equinix and ensures that customers will benefit from top-tier datacentre services nationally and globally, allowing BT to specialise in our core strengths in cloud, networking, and security.”

Peter Lantry, Managing Director, Equinix Ireland, said, “Equinix has a vital and long- established business in Ireland, with a strong track record of delivering huge value to individuals and companies throughout the Irish economy. This acquisition of assets from our existing facility enables us to continue to offer exceptional interconnection services from our unique global platform, augmenting the EUR35M annual contribution to national economic output arising from Equinix’s direct and indirect spend, measured in 2022.”

“We look forward to working closely with BT to ensure a seamless transition, welcoming their datacentre team and customers to Equinix and bringing the scale, expertise, and investment that next generation datacentre facilities require for excellent service delivery for organisations in Ireland and globally.”

In the coming months, Equinix will support the transition of the datacentres from BT, ensuring uninterrupted operations to customers and positioning the facilities as integral parts of Equinix’s global network.
BCS Bureau