According to people who did not wish to be named because the negotiations are private, Wren House Infrastructure Management - the Kuwait Investment Authority's direct infrastructure investment arm - is deep in negotiations to purchase GIC's 80% interest in a Europe-focused data center venture operating under the xScale banner. The price being discussed is around €700 million, or $810 million.
The situation remains fluid, and Wren House could opt to step back, the people said. Spokespeople at Wren House and at GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, would not comment.
Equinix Inc. owns the remaining 20% of the joint venture and plans to maintain that position, the people said. Equinix lists 101 data centers worldwide on its website, and in Europe it has locations across the UK as well as Bulgaria, France, and Germany.
Equinix and GIC set up the venture in 2019 to build and operate hyperscale facilities in Europe for large cloud providers. In February, Bloomberg News said GIC had engaged Eastdil Secured LLC to assess potential buyers' interest in its stake.
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If Wren House moves ahead, ownership of the xScale European portfolio would tilt toward a long-term infrastructure investor while Equinix stays in the mix. For everyday investors, the takeaway is simple: deep-pocketed institutions are still circling the plumbing of the cloud, even as deal talks ebb and flow.
