Mezzanine Management and MCI.EuroVentures sell Polish data center leader ATM S.A. to Global Compute
Mezzanine Management and MCI.EuroVentures have agreed to sell 100% shares in ATM SA, the leader of the Polish data center market. The buyer is Global Compute Infrastructure LP, a platform backed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. The planned closing of the transaction is expected by the end of 2020.
Mezzanine Management and MCI.EuroVentures have agreed to sell 100% shares in ATM SA, the leader of the Polish data center market. The buyer is Global Compute Infrastructure LP, a platform backed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. The planned closing of the transaction is expected by the end of 2020.
MCI.EuroVentures made its first investment in ATM in 2016 and consolidated 100% ownership together with Mezzanine Management. ATM operates almost 20,000 sq m of state-of-the-art data centers in Warsaw, making ATM the largest data center operator in Poland and in CEE.
The Polish data center market has been steadily growing as a consequence of rapid digitization of the Polish economy, that has accelerated further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Poland is swiftly becoming a key market for the largest global data center clients: in recent months investments in Poland have been announced by the world's largest companies in the industry, such as Google and Microsoft, which have declared multi-billion dollars investments in local cloud availability zones. That puts Warsaw on par with such hubs as Frankfurt or Paris in terms of datacenter infrastructure.
ATM has been expanding its data center footprint as well as its 4,500 km fiber network and its currently the only fully integrated hyperscaler-ready datacenter provider in Poland.
The ATM transaction concludes the strategic options review initiated by ATM in June 2019.
Przemysław Głębocki, co-managing partner and chief investment officer at Mezzanine Management: "We exit this company in a very good financial and operating condition, on a good path to retain its leadership in the Polish data center market. We are very glad we conclude this investment with Global Compute and the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. We are confident that the new owner will support to the company and the management team in continuing its impressive achievements."
Maciej Kowalski, fund manager of MCI.EuroVentures: "ATM has been our largest investment so far, thus we have put significant effort in retaining excellent management team of experts led by Piotr Sieluk and Daniel Szcześniewski to transform ATM from a technology leader into a well operated and efficient business. EBITDA of the business doubled in the course of our investment thanks to efficient sales processes and prudent cost approach. We have also used innovative LBO structuring that positively influences return on this investment. The proceeds from this investment will allow MCI to accelerate new buyout investments in Poland and CEE."
Scott Peterson, CEO of Global Compute: "We are extremely excited to initiate our Global Compute venture with Goldman Sachs by announcing the agreement to acquire ATM SA. We were initially attracted by the opportunity to acquire the leading data center company in the fast-growing Poland market but quickly realized the world class management team led by Piotr and Daniel would be more than capable of executing our ambitious expansion plans for the region. We believe the unique combination ATM, Goldman Sachs and Global Compute will greatly benefit our customers and partners as we provide creative solutions to their capacity and growth needs in the CEE region. I would like to thank MCI and Mezzanine Management for being thoughtful stewards of ATM during their ownership, putting ATM in a position for continued success."
About Mezzanine Management:
Mezzanine Management pioneered mezzanine finance in Central Europe in 2000 and has since evolved to become a one-stop-shop for growth capital to mid-market businesses. The company has successfully deployed more than EUR 750 million across four funds in 12 different countries, helping more than 54 businesses grow – organically and through acquisition; domestically and abroad.
Mezzanine Management has been operating in Central and Eastern Europe since 2000 through its offices in Vienna, Warsaw, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague.
Today, the firm provides all types of funding depending on what best suits a particular business at a specific point in its development. More about the company: www.mezzmanagement.com.
About MCI Capital:
MCI Capital – main investor in MCI.EuroVentures is the leading technology-focused private equity fund operating in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and managing ever-green funds totaling PLN 2.3 billion (EUR 550 million). MCI is focusing on companies with digitization at the core of their business models, including consumer and retail, financial services, TMT, healthcare, and transport/logistics. In over 20 years of history MCI have carried out more than 100 investments and 60 exits, including, among others, Netrisk (the largest online insurance broker in Hungary), Mall.cz (the largest Czech e-commerce), DotCard (leading Polish online payments company), WP.pl (the largest Polish on-line media group) or Invia (the largest e-travel in CEE). More about MCI: www.mci.eu.
About Global Compute:
Global Compute is a new entrant in the data center infrastructure industry. Led by a team of international industry veterans with over 50 years of combined industry experience, the Company intends to acquire, develop and operate data center assets across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Global Compute aims to serve as a partner to the world’s largest technology companies and their customers by providing secure, reliable, and creative solutions for their compute capacity and connectivity requirements in high growth and established markets. Global Compute is backed by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.
About Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division:
Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division (MBD) is the primary center for the firm’s long-term principal investing activity. MBD is one of the leading private capital investors in the world with investments across private equity, infrastructure, private debt, growth equity and real estate.