The BE Company, a UK-based provider of clean-energy infrastructure and data centres, plans to acquire data centres in the UK and, separately, has been receiving approaches from private equity firms interested in investing in the company, founder and CEO Sath Ganesarajah told Mergermarket.

BE, which generates GBP 10m in recurring revenue, is looking to spend between GBP 2m and GBP 50m on individual data-centre deals and is specifically looking for a nimble platform that fits its strategy of zero-carbon, low-cost data centre provision, Ganesarajah said. It could bring in investors at an SPV level for bigger deals, he said. He did not disclose how much BE intends to spend in total.

“All our acquisitions and greenfield projects are structured as an SPV below the holding company,” Ganesarajah said. “So we work with investors on “deal-by-deal” in that sense.”

BE is also buying distressed data centres in the UK, he said, but is not looking elsewhere for the time being, partly because the regulatory framework in the UK matches its strategy.

Last year, BE made acquisitions of 30 sites from a single vendor, which it restructured into six sites, totaling two megawatts for an undisclosed price, he said, adding that it expects to announce the closing of its second acquisition in the UK by 17 February.

Its revenue is expected to double this year due to the ongoing growth, he said. Data centres are needed on a large scale, and recent developments in AI, such as the noise around Deepseek, means cheaper AI will democratise the industry and increase demand, he added.

The BE Company is working with several large, well-known US-based private equity firms in non-strategic partnerships, Ganesarajah said, but has also received approaches from other PE firms interested in investing in BE.

“Investor funds would provide debt and equity at SPV level,” he said. “Current conversations with our [unnamed] capital partners are also at an SPV level, but they are also interested in an equity holding,” he said.

The BE Company is considering an IPO in the next two to three years, he said, adding that it is too early to give further details.

The company provides industrial-scale clean energy solutions through a Clean Energy-as-a-Service model, as per its website. It specialises in project development and management, and financing low-cost, sustainable power infrastructure for power-intensive industries, Ganesarajah added.

The company’s portfolio targets energy pricing below USD 0.05 per kWh on average, he said, adding that by using under-tapped renewable energy sources, most BE projects have generated zero carbon emissions.

“Customer needs are often around 250 kilowatts, but some companies require at least 25 megawatts,” he noted.

The company often offers outdoor, mobile modules such as containers to tap reliable energy sources, he said, citing for example tapping underutilised wind turbines in Scotland for energy for data centres. Its projects also include a marquee in Pennsylvania that provides low-cost energy solutions for a data centre there, he said.

BE supports more than 300 customers, including many blue-chip companies, Ganesarajah said. It is advising a telco in Africa on building similar data infrastructure to its own, with alternative energy sources, he said; and is also working with a Singapore-based PE firm to explore renewable energy opportunities in India. It will have a non-equity partnership with the Singaporean PE, he added.

The company was revamped in January 2023 to focus on clean-energy infrastructure for data centres, Ganesarajah said. McDermott Will & Emery is its legal adviser, he added.