Record for data centers: Investments rise to 57 billion dollars

Last year, data centers worth 57 billion US dollars were acquired or merged. This figure surpassed the previous high of USD 52 billion from 2022, according to a report by the Synergy Research Group. Chief Analyst John Dinsdale explains the increasing demand for data center capacity with cloud offerings, social networks and other digital services. He expects the trend to continue: "Generative AI will further boost the already strong demand," he says.

Private investors step in

In contrast to the record set in 2022, which has now been surpassed, in 2024 it was primarily the mass of smaller deals under two billion US dollars that ensured a high total sum. The largest transactions were two separate equity investments in the US company Vantage Data Centers, which together amounted to USD 9.2 billion. The company received a further investment of USD 3.1 billion for its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

In addition to the increase in takeover and merger activities, analysts are also noticing an increasing proportion of off-market equity. This is now between 80 and 90 percent. Five years ago, it was only 54 percent. "Operators of specialist data centers were unable to make these investments themselves," explains Dinsdale. Instead, private investors were prepared to step in in view of the growing market.

Data center suppliers also benefit

The rising demand for computing power also led to an increase in turnover for data center suppliers last year. Due to the increasing use of AI applications, revenue in the public cloud and hyperscaler sectors rose by 48%. GPU manufacturer Nvidia in particular benefited from this development and moved to the top of the market behind the contract manufacturers. At the same time, sales to corporate customers increased by 21%, bucking the previous trend. Demand for switches in data centers also increased.

In addition to last year's contracts, deals worth 29 billion US dollars have yet to be officially concluded. According to the study, transactions worth 15 billion US dollars are already underway. In view of this development, everything indicates that there will also be a boom in data center mergers and acquisitions this year, according to Dinsdale.

(sfe)