An investor group comprising the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and BCE Inc. have announced an agreement to acquire 100% of Canadian data centre operator Q9 Networks Inc. for $1.1 billion.
Under the agreement, Providence, Madison Dearborn and Teachers’ will contribute 70%—or $420 million—of the equity funding; Bell will provide the remaining 30%. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2012.
Q9 provides outsourced IT infrastructure, and has 11 data centres located in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. The company will continue to be headquartered in Toronto and existing Q9 management will stay on, including Osama Arafat as CEO and Paul Sharpe as president and chief operating officer.
“This is a unique opportunity to partner with the world-class management team at Q9 and with Bell, the leading communications provider in Canada. We look forward to supporting Q9’s continued growth with Bell, and adding lasting value at the company,” the investor group said in a joint statement