Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
Equinix, one of the world’s leading digital infrastructure corporations, has announced on December 7, 2021, its expansion into Africa through its intended acquisition of MainOne, a leading West African data center and connectivity solutions provider, with presence in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
MainOne is headquartered in Lagos Nigeria.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including the requisite regulatory approvals. The transaction has an enterprise value of US $320 million.
From Funke Opeke, Founder and CEO, MainOne: “Equinix will accelerate our long-term vision to grow digital infrastructure investments across Africa. I thank our founding shareholders led by Mr. Fola Adeola, MainStreet Technologies, AFC, PAIDF, FBN, Polaris and AfDB for investing in the MainOne vision to bridge the Digital Divide in Africa. With similar values and culture to what we have jointly built in twelve years, Equinix is the preferred partner for our growth journey. The MainOne team is excited about the partnership created through the acquisition, and we look forward to building our next chapter together.”
On his part, Eugene Bergen, President, EMEA, Equinix: “Expansion in Africa has long been a strategic priority for us. With MainOne, we have found a company that not only has highly complementary data center and connectivity assets, but can further accelerate the expansion of our business model and growth objectives. CEO Funke Opeke and her team have built a powerful and dynamic infrastructure that will enable international customers access to the continent and African organizations access to the global Equinix platform.”
Equinix’s statement also points to the demographics advantage: “With more than 200 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and, along with Ghana, has become an established data center hub. This makes the acquisition a pivotal entry point for Equinix into the continent.
Equinix believes MainOne to be one of the most exciting technology businesses to emerge from Africa. Founded by Funke Opeke in 2010, the company has enabled connectivity for the business community of Nigeria and now has digital infrastructure assets….”
Overall, USAfricaonline.com notes that the two corporations strongly believe that this acquisition and expansion will enable and accelerate digital transformation throughout Africa.
