Templus (ICG) continues its data center purchases: it acquires BitNap from Cellnex in Barcelona
Templus , the largest regional data centre platform in Southern Europe, backed by the Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) fund, has acquired Cellnex ‘s flagship data centre, part of the company bitNAP , in Barcelona. The company, whose CEO is Ignacio Velilla, formerly of Equinix , has thus sealed its fourth purchase in less than two years since it began a process of creating a platform in the sector in the midst of an investment fever among large private equity and infrastructure funds. The operation consolidates its commitment to territorial expansion and improving its technological infrastructure capabilities.
This data centre has a surface area of over 3,000 square metres and a power of 1.7 MW . It is also equipped with the most advanced technology and operational efficiency, highlighting a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of 1.14, which is one of the lowest on the market. Templus intends to improve all sustainability and energy efficiency parameters, as well as double its current IT capacity .
This is the fourth acquisition that Templus has made. The most significant have been the acquisitions of the data center business of the telecommunications company Avatel (Beta Data Center) , on the one hand, and a data center that was owned by the insurance company Mapfre , on the other. Another notable data center is in Seville, where it has recently tripled its capacity.
Apart from ICG, which controls 96.2% of Templus from one of its infrastructure funds with the Veta Invest vehicle , the Spanish platform also has the backing of the Teras Capital platform , a company that is present in more telecommunications projects such as the Olin Group company , together with the Asterion fund , and other pioneering and renowned initiatives such as the urban beach and wave park that will arrive in Madrid this year with the Stoneweg fund.
Cellnex, for its part, is carrying out its first divestment in Spain in this business unit. The company has several data centers for sale in the national market, valued in total at approximately 100 million euros. The telecommunications company has also whetted the appetite for this industry in France , where it has explored a potential divestment through its NexLoop unit , which was acquired in 2020.
Bitnap was acquired by Cellnex in 2022. Its assets are concentrated in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) and support the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for the deployment of 5G in Spain . It operates as a neutral data center, that is, available to several clients of the telecommunications company. The economic terms of the transaction between Templus and Cellnex have not been disclosed.
Ignacio Velilla, CEO of Templus, told elEconomista.es that
This acquisition not only expands our presence in the market , but also underlines our dedication to providing cutting-edge technological solutions.
“Barcelona represents a significant step in our growth strategy and will allow us to improve our service offering and respond more effectively to the needs of our clients.”
Growth plan
With this acquisition, Templus begins 2025 with six sites and confirms its objective of exceeding 20 data centers in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the year . The first goal, however, is to reach ten during the first half of the year. After combing the market, it has identified a portfolio of potential acquisitions of up to 95 MW .
The data centre sector has whetted the appetite of large private equity and infrastructure funds. In addition to ICG’s interest, there is also the interest of other financial investors with a lot of strength, such as Aermont, which has signed the Nabiax operation and thus sealed the largest purchase of the industry in Spain to date. Goldman Sachs and Igneo Infrastructure have also positioned themselves in Spain looking for opportunities.
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Templus (ICG) continues its data center purchases: it acquires BitNap from Cellnex in Barcelona, source
