New | Chinese group pays £2.4bn for 49pc stake in data centre developer Global Switch

A Chinese consortium led by Jiangsu Sha Steel Group has paid £2.4 billion (HK$23.03 billion) in cash to acquire joint control in London-based Global Switch Holdings, an international data centre developer that is now building a HK$4 billion new facility in Hong Kong.

In a statement on Thursday, Global Switch said the consortium called Elegant Jubilee bought a 49 per cent stake in the company from British owner Aldersgate Investments, which is controlled by global private equity firm Reuben Brothers.

The new investment is expected to finance the strategic infrastructure expansion of Global Switch, as the firm plans to intensify its support for Chinese telecommunications and internet services companies.

Global Switch aims “to become the data centre provider of choice for new customers from across the globe, especially Chinese companies growing in Asia and Europe, and Western companies growing in China,” said its executive chairman and chief executive John Corcoran.

In Hong Kong, Global Switch is currently developing a 45,000-square metre data centre complex in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate, due for completion next year.

Mainland Chinese data centre services provider Daily-Tech Beijing and China Telecom Global, the international business arm of the country’s biggest fixed-line network operator, have already signed a “pre-commitment” deal to take up space in two of the five buildings which will make up the Global Switch complex in Hong Kong.

“It will offer a launch pad for China Telecom Global and other Chinese companies to expand internationally,” Corcoran said.