Equinix Announces Expansion to India with GPX India Acquisition

As part of its expansion plans into India, Equinix, Inc., a global interconnection and data company, announced this Tuesday that it has acquired the India operations of GPX Global Systems, Inc. in a deal worth $161 million.

Equinix has acquired GPX India in an all-cash transaction, extending the former’s platform to India. The size of the deal represents a multiple of around 15 times the projected EBITDA at full utilisation, the company said in its statement today.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Of course, this is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. 

Under the acquisition, Platform Equinix has been extended to India with the addition of two interconnected data services. The deal also provides the company with the ability to further expand throughout the country.

GPX India’s business is made up of a fiber-connected campus in Mumbai with two data centers. The company adds more than 1,350 cabinets and more than 90,000 square feet of colocation space to Platform Equinix when it’s fully built, the statement said.

Equinix plans to expand in Canada

Commenting on the acquisition, Charles Meyers, President and CEO, Equinix said in the statement: “India represents the second largest internet user base in the world, with consumption expected to grow with the continued advancement of internet infrastructure, smartphone ownership and the penetration of 4G and 5G. 

“Extending Platform Equinix to India has long been a strategic objective for Equinix and we are excited that the GPX transaction will allow us to capitalize on this market opportunity and meet the needs of our customers as they seek to expand their digital businesses. The acquisition of GPX’s business in India means we are able to make a giant leap forward in terms of growing our ecosystem in India, and gives us a solid foundation for rapid growth and expansion in the country. 

“This acquisition follows the recent announcement of our planned expansion in Canada and is a testament to our continued focus on expanding our global reach as companies continue to view interconnection at the digital edge as a business imperative.”

At present, Equinix is made up of more than 210 data centres across 26 countries. The interconnection data company operates 46 IBX data centers in Asia-Pacific across 13 metros in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

Today’s announcement follows on from Equinix reporting its 70th quarter of consecutive growth, with the company reporting solid financial results for the second quarter of 2020. As Finance Magnates reported, it achieved one of its strongest quarters in terms of interconnection growth and activity across the company’s history.