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Equinix, a multinational digital infrastructure company led by U.S. businessman Charles Meyers, has completed the $320-million acquisition of West African data center and connectivity solutions provider, MainOne.
MainOne is West Africa’s leading provider of communications services and network solutions. Main Street Technologies, a technology group founded by Nigerian entrepreneur Funke Opeke, operates a submarine communications cable stretching from Portugal to South Africa.
The completion of Equinix’s acquisition of MainOne is the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions for the world’s digital infrastructure company, as it moves to supplement its long-term strategy of becoming a leading African carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company.
Equinix’s platform is made up of 240 data centers spread across 66 metros and 27 countries on six continents, providing data center and interconnection services to more than 10,000 companies, including more than half of the Fortune 500.
The agreement, which comes nearly four months after the company announced its intention to acquire MainOne, marks the start of the multinational digital infrastructure company’s expansion into the African continent.
The integration of MainOne will bring a full range of transformative technologies and connectivity to Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, as well as over 64,000 gross square feet of space to Equinix’s platform and 570,000 square feet of land for future expansions, according to the management.
This will also result in the establishment of a vast submarine network stretching 7,000 kilometers from Portugal to Lagos, Accra and along the West African coast, with landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
In an effort to deepen its global reach and its operation, Equinix recently announced expansions in South America with its intended acquisition of three Entel data centers to accelerate digital transformation opportunities for local businesses and multinational companies.
Nearly a week ago, MainOne announced the deployment of fiber optic network infrastructure at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, Nigeria, to provide increased speed, security, and connectivity to businesses with active operations in the zone.
