RedBird Capital Partners (“RedBird”) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers’”) has announced an investment in Compass Datacenters, LLC (“Compass” or the “company”) in partnership with the company’s management team, which includes founder and CEO Chris Crosby. The existing management team will continue to lead the business and execute the company’s growth strategy, which is supported by long-term, flexible capital from Compass’s new investment partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The next major wave of growth in the data center industry will be driven by the need for dedicated data centers that address technology trends including large-scale Internet of Things deployments, edge computing strategies that reduce latency, rapid delivery of new applications, and more,” said Crosby. “I couldn’t be happier about welcoming RedBird and Ontario Teachers’ to our team, as it provides Compass with the financial resources to fund the next phase of our growth with partners who have deep domain expertise in the industry. We will continue serving as a trusted, behind-the-scenes provider to large-scale users in this multi-billion market which is experiencing impressive double-digit growth.”
Based in Dallas, Compass is a leading wholesale datacenter developer, specializing in customized build-to-order solutions for enterprise, cloud computing, and service provider customers. Compass focuses on solving customer needs through its patented architecture, scalable design, low cost of ownership model, and overall speed to market. Compass’s solutions also enable customers to locate their dedicated facilities anywhere. This functionality provides customers with the degree of geographic flexibility necessary as the Internet of Things (IoT) and large rich packet applications (such as video and augmented reality) require data centers to be located closer to end users. Compass CEO Chris Crosby was a founding member of the second-largest data center company in the world and leads a team that has collectively built over $3 billion of data centers globally and operated more than six million square feet of space.
“Compass’s unique solutions align perfectly with the way data center needs are evolving for large cloud/SaaS providers, corporate customers and service providers, and this investment gives Compass significant resources to take advantage of market opportunities,” said Robert Covington, partner of RedBird Capital. “Compass now has the ability to develop larger, multi-phase projects for customers, as well as to invest in the acquisition of real estate in markets that support customer needs. Compass is one of the great stories in the data center industry, and we are proud to be part of the team’s growth strategy.”
“This investment enables Compass to significantly advance its growth plan, maintain its focus on innovative customer solutions and continue to leverage the experience and knowledge of its talented management team,” said Jane Rowe, senior managing director, Private Capital, Ontario Teachers’. “We recognized that Compass is a leader in its market segment and, through this partnership, is very well positioned to serve as the trusted data center partner for even more customers whose evolving technology needs can be met by the facilities that Compass designs and builds.”
DH Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Compass Datacenters on the transaction.
