Home / Deals / Advised IXcellerate, the largest carrier-neutral data centre in Russia, on its placement of Series A equity

Advised IXcellerate, the largest carrier-neutral data centre in Russia, on its placement of Series A equity
May 2012
growth investment by
  • Sector: Communication & Internet Infrastructure
  • Deal Type: Private Equity Deals; Private Capital
  • Engagement type: Fundraise
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Arma Partners is pleased to announce that it has acted as exclusive financial adviser to IXcellerate Ltd. on its placement of Series A equity. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is among the institutional investors subscribing to the issue alongside IXcellerate’s co-founders. Upon completion of all phases, the project cost will total c. $55 million, most of which will be invested towards the construction and operation of a 6,200 square metre facility in Moscow set on a 15,000 square metre campus. The datacentre will be built over three phases, with the first 1,000 square metres planned to be operational in 2012.

IXcellerate is a data centre operator founded by Guy Willner (founder and former CEO of IXEurope, which was sold to Equinix in 2007) and Cliff Gauntlett (former SVP of Golden Telecom). IXcellerate is expected to become the largest carrier-neutral datacentre in Russia, where demand for high-quality datacentre services is expected to increase strongly over the next few years. IXcellerate is an alliance member of the International Data Centre Group (www.idc-g.com), a global alliance of independent datacentre operators. For more information on IXcellerate see www.ixcellerate.com.

This transaction further illustrates Arma Partners’ leadership in the colocation sector, leveraging Arma’s deep domain expertise, understanding of the investor universe and first class execution skills.
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– IXcellerate is a datacentre operator founded by Guy Willner (founder and former CEO of IXEurope), and Cliff Gauntlett (former SVP of Golden Telecom)

– The project will encompass the construction and operation of a 6,200 square meter carrier-neutral datacentre in Moscow set on a 15,000 square meter campus

– The datacentre will be built over three phases, with the first 1,000 square meters planned to be operational in 2012

– The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector, helping developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets

– Over the last twenty years IFC have provided over US$6.5 billion in financing to over 115 telecom and IT projects in developing countries

– The Russian colocation market is severely underserved with limited Tier III providers and an overall lack of space. Multi-national corporations (MNCs) are either resorting to cross-border facilities or running their own in-house datacentres. The demand for a reliable local provider is therefore strong from the existing market, currently worth c. US$100m according to recent research

– Looking forward, the market is expected to be worth
c. US$500 million by 2014, effectively growing at a CAGR of 30%

– IXcellerate is therefore poised to be Moscow’s leading colocation provider in the next 2-3 years and is already forecasting further rounds of funding to handle future growth

– Arma Partners provided comprehensive advisory services to the shareholders of IXcellerate, including financial analysis, strategic positioning, valuation, marketing materials preparation, investor communication, due diligence and transaction negotiation

– Arma Partners led the placement process and reached out to a large universe of investors to help IXcellerate source the appropriate investor base for the project

– The transaction illustrates Arma Partners’ leadership in advising companies in the colocation and webhosting sectors, leveraging Arma’s deep domain expertise, understanding of the investor universe and first class execution skills

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