Manulife buys control of Israeli data centers co Serverfarm

Canadian company Manulife Investment Management has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in the Israeli data center owner and operator Serverfarm. Manulife’s investment, along with the support of existing shareholders, will provide the capital for Serverfarm to continue its expansion across North America, Europe and Israel to take advantage of attractive market opportunities.

Serverfarm currently operates a portfolio of eight data centers across North America, Europe and Israel with over 1.5 million square feet of space and 125 megawatts of IT capacity, and has secured additional land for future data center developments.

No financial details about the deal were disclosed, but Globes understands that Serverfarm will receive $600-700 million for its shares at a $1.5 billion valuation of the company. Serverfarm is owned by the Red Sea group of the Papouchado family, which is best known for its chain of European hotels which it owns through Park Plaza Hotels Ltd. (LSE: PPHE).

Avner Papuchado, Founder and CEO of Serverfarm, said: “The partnership with Manulife Investment Management, an investor who shares Serverfarm’s vision for growth and customer service, will allow us to effectively handle the next wave of demand from our existing and new customers. Our new relationship with Manulife provides Serverfarm Investment Management with additional expertise and fresh capital to implement a number of attractive development opportunities and give our clients a long-term growth path.”

Recep Kindircioglu, Global Head of Infrastructure at Manulife Investment Management, added, “The Avner team and the Serverfarm team have created a high-quality data center portfolio and growth platform that is well positioned to take advantage of the strong tailwinds in the data center market. We are excited about the future of the company and our ability to support Serverfarm during its next phase of growth on behalf of our clients.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 21, 2023.

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