TO OPERATE AS BAM DIGITAL REALTY

Cloud- and carrier-neutral data center provider Digital Realty, has just announced an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture with Brookfield Infrastructure L.P, aimed at developing, owning and operating data centers in India.

According to the partners, the joint venture will operate under the brand name “BAM Digital Realty” as their facilities will run on Digital Realty’s global data center platform PlatformDIGITAL®, thus, the joint venture is positioned to enable the significant expansion of PlatformDIGITAL across India.

The joint venture will also expand Brookfield Infrastructure’s global data infrastructure portfolio, which currently includes assets across data transmission, distribution, and storage, including a portfolio of 139,000 operational telecom wireless towers in India with other investment assets under management including infrastructure, renewable power, real estate, and private equity. 

“India is a rapidly emerging data center market and offers a bright future, with accelerating adoption of digital business models among a population that recognizes the role of technology for future economic development,” said A. William Stein, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty.

“Our existing partnership with Brookfield, our Ascenty platform across Latin America, has already delivered long-term value to our customers, with over 250 megawatts of IT load capacity in Brazil, Chile and Mexico either fully built out or currently under construction.  We look forward to building upon our successful partnership with Brookfield by entering the Indian data center market together and extending opportunities for digital transformation with the global consistency of PlatformDIGITAL®.”

As planned, BAM Digital Realty will acquire land parcels in multiple Indian metros for the development of data center campuses to support the needs of global hyperscale service providers as well as international and local enterprises. The joint venture is also expected to design, build and operate sustainable facilities, aligning with the partners’ commitments to sustainable operations, including carbon reduction initiatives.

“We are pleased to further expand both our partnership with Digital Realty and our presence in India through this joint venture,” said Arpit Agrawal, Managing Director and Head of India & Middle East, Brookfield Infrastructure.

“Through the development of a high-quality, multi-city, India-focused data center platform, we believe BAM Digital Realty is well positioned to play a meaningful role in addressing the large and growing data demand in the country and to offer a differentiated solution to customers.”

The closing of the joint venture is expected to occur in the second half of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.