11 August 2021
Antin takes on 10 new data centres
Hybrid cloud specialist Pulsant, which operates a nationwide network of 10 data centres across the UK, has been acquired by international private equity Antin Infrastructure Partners (AIP) for an undisclosed fee.
The acquisition from Oak Hill Capital and Scottish Equity Partners will see additional investment focused toward developing Pulsant’s existing platform and network footprint, according to the new owner.
Berkshire-based Pulsant, which was formed in 1995 provides secured, scalable and resilient cloud, colocation and networking services – it works with over 1,000 private enterprise and public sector customers.
The new look management structure will see Pulsant chief executive officer Rob Coupland and chief financial officer Brad Petzer work alongside the firm’s senior team to implement a new growth strategy.
“We thank Oakhill Capital and Scottish Equity Partners for their support to date,” said Coupland. “In partnership with Antin, we now look forward to delivering on the considerable potential we see over the coming years, driven by our cloud and edge capabilities, our regional presence and our ability to deliver customised solutions.”
Coupland added: “The new investment from Antin will help us continue to focus on our core portfolio of colocation and hybrid cloud, while also bringing reliable, scalable and high-capacity coverage to businesses across the whole of the UK through the building of our nationwide edge computing platform.”
The company sees Pulsant, with its nationwide presence, as “uniquely well-placed” to capitalise on the huge potential for edge computing in the UK and to meet the growing demand for hybrid IT infrastructure.
Demand for UK data centre and cloud infrastructure is expected to continue growing significantly in the coming years. This growth is underpinned by fundamental macro trends including increased outsourcing of IT and data infrastructure – particularly among UK regional businesses – and enables more secure and cost-efficient storage and processing of data. These trends have been further accelerated by the pandemic as companies and organisations look to overcome the common barriers to digital transformation by accessing reliable and scalable IT and data infrastructure.
“Through its network of regional data centres, Pulsant is uniquely placed to support businesses across the UK with high quality flexible data centre and cloud infrastructure solutions,” said Simon Söder, partner at AIP, which has offices in Paris, London and New York. The company targets majority stakes in infrastructure businesses in the energy and environment, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors.
Mark Crosbie, managing partner of AIP, added: “We are delighted to support Pulsant’s management team in the next stage of the company’s development.
Rob and Brad have a combined wealth of leadership expertise in the data centre and cloud markets and we look forward to supporting Pulsant with further capital to enable it to meet the growing demand for its offering.”
