DigitalBridge mandates banks for Latin American data centers review
DigitalBridge Group [NYSE:DBRG] is working with lead advisor Deutsche Bank and DH Capital on a strategic review of its São Paulo-based portfolio company Scala Data Centers, one source familiar with the situation said.
The Boca Raton, Florida-based investor is considering a full sale of the Latin American business, the source, a sector executive and sector advisor said.
DigitalBridge, then known as Digital Colony, acquired a portfolio of three data centers from Brazilian IT company UOL Diveo in 2020 and established Scala Data Centers to hold the assets. IFC and Olayan Group are also investors in Scala.
Since then, the company has expanded the sustainable, hyperscale data center operator’s asset portfolio both inside Brazil and in the wider Latin American region.
The company’s website lists 10 operational Brazilian facilities, one in Chile and one in Mexico and lists three more facilities in Brazil and two in Chile as being under construction. The company’s development and planned projects pipeline includes more than 20 facilities across Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Colombia.
Data center development is a cash-hungry business, and the company has made regular forays into the capital markets to finance its project pipeline, especially through domestic Brazilian debenture and international bond issues, as well as raising capital from American technology-focused investment management firm Coatue.
In the past couple of months, Scala completed a capital raise with Coatue providing several hundred million dollars in funding to support the growth of the platform, according to two sector advisors.
DigitalBridge and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Coatue and DH Capital did not respond to requests for comment.