Equinix & CPP Investments to Buy atNorth & Expand Data Center Footprint

Equinix, Inc. EQIX and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) announced that they have jointly agreed to acquire atNorth from Partners Group for $4.2 billion, with the valuation subject to customary closing conditions. The entity is a leading Nordic provider of high-density colocation and built-to-suit data centers.

While CPP Investments will invest $1.6 billion owning nearly 60% controlling interest, the rest 40% will be owned by Equinix. Upon closure, the transaction will be immediately accretive to EQIX’s adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share. The joint agreement between EQIX and CPP Investments will provide atNorth with scaling capabilities to capitalize on the opportunities created by the burgeoning demand for data center infrastructure.

The existing portfolio of atNorth comprises eight operational data centers, with several sites under development across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. The company plans further expansion with 1 GW of secured power and additional future planned capacity. To support high-density workloads, atNorth’s facilities are liquid cooling-enabled and integrate green initiatives to have minimal environmental impact.

Equinix has a current portfolio of eight data centers in the Nordics, with five in Helsinki and three in Stockholm. With a wide European footprint of more than 100 facilities across 20 countries, Equinix offers customers efficient deployment of infrastructure to aid end users in connecting across boundaries. Equinix’s European facilities are 100% renewable energy dedicated with innovative decarbonization solutions to address emissions.

Wrapping Up on Equinix

The acquisition of atNorth by Equinix, Inc. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board marks a strategically significant move to deepen their presence in the fast-growing Nordic data center market. The deal enhances Equinix’s scale in a region known for abundant renewable energy and strong digital infrastructure demand, while providing atNorth with the capital and expertise needed to accelerate expansion.

With secured power capacity, high-density capabilities and a sustainability-focused operating model, the transaction positions the partners to capitalize on surging demand driven by cloud adoption and AI workloads. The acquisition strengthens Equinix’s European platform, supports long-term AFFO growth and reinforces its commitment to sustainable digital infrastructure development.

Over the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) REIT have soared 33.9% compared with the industry’s growth of 6.4%.

Analysts also seem bullish on this stock, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 FFO per share having been revised northward marginally to $41.93 over the past week.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Cousins Properties CUZ and W.P. Carey WPC, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2026 FFO per share is pinned at $2.93, calling for year-over-year growth of 3.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WPC’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $5.16. This implies a year-over-year increase of 3.8%.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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