EQT sells minority stake in GlobalConnect to Mubadala

EQT Infrastructure III and IV funds (EQT Infrastructure) have signed an agreement to sell a minority stake in GlobalConnect to Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala).

Stockholm-headquartered GlobalConnect is a fibre-based data communication and data centre services provider to enterprises, public institutions, and consumers in Northern Europe

The company comprises a combination of four independent fibre platforms in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, owned by EQT Infrastructure, reported state news agency, WAM

GlobalConnect’s infrastructure carries more than 50 per cent of all internet traffic generated in the Nordics across its network of 150,000 km of fibre infrastructure and 35,000 m2 of data centre space, and it employs around 1,800 people in the region.

With Mubadala as a minority investor in GlobalConnect, EQT Infrastructure aims to broaden the company’s long-term shareholder base, while drawing on Mubadala’s prior investment experience in data centres and fibre-to-the-home assets in numerous markets.

Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO, Real Estate and Infrastructure Investments at Mubadala, said: “We look forward to working with GlobalConnect and EQT to capitalise on growth opportunities in data centre and fibre-to-the-home assets, and to support Europe’s digital infrastructure development, a vital enabler of digital inclusion and socioeconomic progress.”

Carl Sjölund, a partner within EQT Infrastructure’s Advisory Team, said, “As data usage and internet traffic continue to increase, it is vital that the underlying digital infrastructure keeps up to meet future demand. EQT Infrastructure remains committed to GlobalConnect’s ambition to increase societies’ digital connectivity and we are happy to welcome Mubadala to come along on this journey.”

In other news, Mubadala and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) signed agreements to invest in the privatisation of two gas-fired power generation plants in the Talimarjan power complex in Uzbekistan. The binding agreements will see Mubadala and TAQA each acquire a 40 per cent stake in two gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 1.6 gigawatts. Gulf Business