Bell Canada set to sell 25 data centre facilities to Equinix

BCE Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell 25 data centres at 13 sites to global interconnection and data centre company Equinix, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at Cdn $1.04 billion.

"This transaction reinforces Bell's strategy to focus investment on the network infrastructure, content and services necessary to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Equinix, with its expanding platform of data centres here in Canada and worldwide, is well-positioned to maximize the opportunities these facilities represent for Canadian businesses in an increasingly global and interconnected data sector," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada.

"Our strategic redeployment of capital further underscores Bell's commitment to champion customer experience by leading investment in communications networks and services, especially as Canada manages and recovers from the COVID-19 crisis," said Bibic. "As part of ensuring a seamless customer experience for our enterprise clients, we are also pleased to announce today a partnership between Bell Business Markets and the Equinix Platform of global data centre services."

Equinix is acquiring 13 sites representing 25 Bell data centre facilities in 8 cities across Canada; Bell will continue to own and operate 5 other data centres that are located in its network central offices in Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, St. John's and Toronto. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2020 subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.

Equinix's Platinum Partner in Canada

As part of the transaction, Bell Business Markets becomes the first Equinix Platinum Partner in Canada, which will provide Bell enterprise clients with full access to the international scale of Equinix's advanced integrated network and cloud solutions.

"Our new partnership with Equinix, built on the strength of Bell's network, cloud service innovation and experienced professional services team, combined with Equinix's global platform of interconnected data centres and business ecosystem, will deliver a superior customer experience for our Canadian enterprise clients," said Tom Little, President of Bell Business Markets. "We look forward to working together to enhance the reach of our customers' growing global digital operations while ensuring Canada remains a world leader in digital transformation."