Business conglomerate Adani Group has announced a partnership with the US-based Digital Realty, a data centre, co-location and interconnection solutions provider.
Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEL) has signed a pact with the San Francisco-based Digital Realty to evaluate the development and operation of data centres, data centre parks and undersea cable solutions, the company said in a statement.
The financial details of the transaction couldn’t be ascertained.
Gautam Adani, chairman at Adani Group, said the data centre infrastructure was a critical requirement for India and that the partnership would leverage the group’s capabilities in several sectors including power generation, transmission, waterfronts and real estate management.
“Our ability to power our data centres with solar and wind energy is unique and addresses some of the challenges of building and operating data centres,” he said.
Separately, A William Stein, chief executive officer, Digital Realty, said the partnership would benefit from the Adani Group’s knowledge of the domestic market, and that the construction of data centre infrastructure would support the growth of both domestic and international customers.
Digital Realty Trust Inc., which was founded in 2004, says it supports the data centre, co-location and interconnection strategies of over 2,000 firms across its centres in five continents. The firm, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, says it supports companies of all sizes in sectors including cloud and information technology services, communications and financial services.
The Adani Group operates several businesses, including flagship company AEL. The firm has a diversified portfolio including coal mining and management, manufacturing and edible oils.
The group has also been making several moves in other segments. For instance, in August, it said it would acquire 10 operating solar energy assets of the beleaguered Essel group for an enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore ($181 million). Similarly, it was reported earlier this year that the group submitted a formal offer to pick up a 23.5% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd from South Africa’s Bidvest Group and Airports Company South Africa.
Deals in the data segment
The partnership between Adani and Digital Realty is part of a larger trend of Indian companies making moves to construct and operate data centres, as the demand for the domestic operation and storage of data grows.
The real estate sector, in particular, has increased its focus on data centres. Earlier this month, VCCircle reported that Bengaluru developer Salarpuria Sattva Group was actively monitoring data centres and was planning to launch a few projects in some of its target markets. Similarly, last month, VCCircle reported on Embassy Group’s plans to develop data centres with a financial partner.
But perhaps the biggest mover in the segment is Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the arm of Reliance telecommunications services. In August, it was reported that Jio tied up with Microsoft Corp. to offer cloud infrastructure to companies, including connectivity, computing, storage solutions and other applications.
As part of the agreement, Jio will set up data centres across India, and Microsoft will deploy its Azure cloud platform in these data centres to support Jio’s offerings. The first two data centres, which can house IT equipment consuming up to 7.5 MW of power, are being set up in Gujarat and Maharashtra and are targeted to be fully operational in 2020.
