Centersquare: The US$1bn Expansion Supporting the AI Boom
The data centre industry is consolidating as AI workloads drive demand for facilities that can handle higher power densities than traditional computing requires.
In response, Centersquare, a data centre operator formed through the merger of Dallas-based Evoque Data Center Solutions and Florida-based Cyxtera Technologies, is announcing the acquisition of ten facilities across the US and Canada.
The transactions, which have an enterprise value of US$1bn, bring Centersquare’s total portfolio to 80 data centres.
The facilities are located in Boston, Minneapolis, Dallas, Tulsa, Nashville, Raleigh, Toronto and Montreal.
Two of the sites in Boston and Minneapolis were previously under long-term lease agreements with Centersquare.
Spencer Mullee, CEO of Centersquare, says the acquisitions are “more than just volume growth.”
“It reflects the growing strength and gaining momentum of our platform.
“By adding capacity in strategic markets, we are positioning Centersquare to capture the surging demand for trusted, high-performance infrastructure.”
The company operates data centres that house computer servers and networking equipment for organisations requiring secure facilities with reliable power supplies.
Centersquare serves customers in sectors including technology, healthcare, media and financial services, guaranteeing 100% uptime.
Centersquare’s expansion: Explained
The transactions are self-funded by Centersquare, meaning the company is using existing cash reserves rather than raising external capital through debt or equity markets.
This approach differs from typical data centre acquisitions, which often rely on financing from banks or investment partners.
Udhay Mathialagan, CEO of Brookfield Global Data Centers and chair of Centersquare, says demand patterns are shifting in the data centre market.
Brookfield Global Data Centers is the infrastructure investment arm that backs Centersquare’s operations.
“Workloads are shifting, we’re seeing enterprises move off-premises, reconsider public cloud strategies and embrace AI-driven architectures that demand radically higher power densities,” Udhay says.
Power density refers to the amount of electrical power consumed per unit of physical space in a data centre.
Udhay says Centersquare is developing its operating platform over the past two years, growing its customer base and revenue.
“These factors position the company well to make smart, value-accretive acquisitions such as these with the benefit of high confidence levels on revenues and costs,” he says.
The impact of AI applications requiring infrastructure upgrades
AI applications, particularly those using graphics processing units (GPUs) for machine learning (ML) and Gen AI, require more power than traditional enterprise software.
This shift is forcing data centre operators to redesign facilities and upgrade cooling systems to handle higher heat output.
Centersquare has been directing capital towards infrastructure that supports GPU-intensive workloads, which drive ML, Gen AI and advanced analytics.
Spencer says the company’s customers, ranging from individual enterprises to hyperscale cloud providers, are “looking for partners who can grow with them.”
Hyperscale providers operate data centres at massive scale, typically serving millions of users through cloud computing services.
“Our customers – from enterprise to scale – are looking for partners who can grow with them – and we are delivering the reliable power, connectivity, and engineered environments they need to accelerate innovation,” Spencer says.
