Equinix to buy BT’s datacentre business in Ireland

The transaction is expected to complete during the first half of 2025, subject to various competition and regulatory clearance. The two carrier-neutral facilities are approximately 150,000 gross square feet combined.

This is part of what BT calls its ‘asset-light strategy’ internationally, which includes a transition away from owning and operating datacentre facilities in favour of working with ‘globally scaled organisations.’

This gives it a more commercially scalable and flexible model, so says BT.

“This announcement with Equinix marks an exciting new chapter for our datacentre business in Ireland,” said Shay Walsh, Managing Director, BT Ireland. “The deal builds on our existing successful partnership with Equinix and ensures that customers will benefit from top-tier datacentre services nationally and globally, allowing BT to specialise in our core strengths in cloud, networking, and security.”

Peter Lantry, Managing Director, Equinix Ireland, added: “Equinix has a vital and long- established business in Ireland, with a strong track record of delivering huge value to individuals and companies throughout the Irish economy. This acquisition of assets from our existing facility enables us to continue to offer exceptional interconnection services from our unique global platform, augmenting the EUR35M annual contribution to national economic output arising from Equinix’s direct and indirect spend, measured in 2022.

“We look forward to working closely with BT to ensure a seamless transition, welcoming their datacentre team and customers to Equinix and bringing the scale, expertise, and investment that next generation datacentre facilities require for excellent service delivery for organisations in Ireland and globally.”

In September, TIM reportedly threw its hat into the ring for BT's remaining assets in Italy, which essentially comprised a handful of data centres and a backbone network, having agreed to acquire its business units serving public administrations and SMEs in Italy back in 2020.