Manulife Acquires Controlling Interest in Data Center Company

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Manulife Investment Management entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in a data center company with assets across three regions. The company will make the acquisition of the controlling interest in Serverfarm on behalf of its Manulife Infrastructure Fund II and its affiliates. The details of the transactions were not disclosed.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Serverfarm tapped Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as the lead financial advisor, TD Securities as financial advisor, and Dentons US LLP and Alston & Bird LLP as legal counsel, while Manulife tapped TAP Advisors LLC as financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP as legal counsel for the deal.

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Serverfarm’s current portfolio includes eight data centers across North America, Europe and Israel. The properties range from a 100,000 square feet facility in Israel to a two-building data center in Moses Lake, Wash., that combines for 413,000 square feet. Overall, the portfolio totals 1.5 million gross square feet and 125 megawatts of IT capacity, and also has additional land for future data center developments.

Set for expansion

With the investment from Manulife, Serverfarm will be able to continue its expansion of its data center portfolio across North America, Europe and Israel. Avner Papouchado, founder & CEO of Serverfarm, said in prepared remarks that the new capital will help the company move forward on several attractive development opportunities.

Manulife Investment Management represents the global wealth and asset management division of Manulife Financial Corp. and invests across 19 geographies. While the Serverfarm interest acquisition is for data centers, Manulife invests in a variety of property types. The parent company owns a high-rise office tower in Jersey City, N.J., that secured two new leases in February. The company has also invested in an industrial warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas, and a logistics facility in Joliet, Ill.