QTS $44m Data Centers in Netherlands

US-based QTS Realty Trust, has just acquired two operational data centers in the Netherlands from TCN SIG Telehousing BV for about $44 million.

The acquired data centers are sited in Groningen and Eemshaven, both northeast of Amsterdam with a total power capacity of 30MW.

The Groningen facility currently has 45,000 square feet of raised floor data center space and about 10MW of power capacity. According to QTS, this facility already has 20 colocation tenants with over 10 network providers and internet exchanges on site, including NL-IX and Eurofiber.

The 20MW Eemshaven facility which was originally built to support a single hyper-scale tenant is currently vacant. This data center has 113,000 square feet of raised floor data center space and is located adjacent to multiple hyper-scale customer-owned data center facilities. It is also sited close to multiple transatlantic fiber cable landings which provides access to multiple markets within Europe and North America.

QTS said that an additional capital investments of $15 million is required for the recommissioning of both facilities. This represents an up-front cost per megawatt of around $2 million, which is materially below the average cost to build in the Netherlands market, according to QTS.

“This acquisition advances our global expansion strategy and provides a platform for future growth internationally at a significantly de-risked entry point. Acquiring strategically located facilities at a competitive price aligns with our overall growth strategy and has clear long-term benefits for our customers and shareholders,” said Chad Williams, chairman and CEO of QTS.

QTS is partnering with Zentrys Group BV, the data center operations company that has maintained the Groningen and Eemshaven facilities for the past five years. The partnership is to have Zentrys continue in providing on-site operations, maintenance and customer support for both facilities.

QTS anticipates investing incremental capital to recommission the facilities, and expects to have Eemshaven data center positioned with sellable capacity towards the end of this year. QTS said it has already engaged in preliminary discussions with multiple potential anchor tenants.