Actis Acquires Majority Stake in Rack Centre

By Emma Okonji

Actis, a leading investor of private capital into global emerging markets, has acquired a majority stake in Rack Centre, one of Nigeria’s leading provider of data centre colocation and cloud services.

Actis’ decision to invest was taken after a detailed assessment of the players in the African market and selected Rack Centre with the most significant potential to grow and expand in Africa.

Rack Centre was established and wholly owned by Jagal, a Nigerian conglomerate holding that operates leading energy businesses and manages a diverse portfolio of investments.

Since commencing operations in Lagos in 2013, Rack Centre has consistently set the quality bar in the industry in Africa, being the first on the continent to be Tier III Constructed Facility Certified in April 2017 with a global reputation for excellence and consistently, winning multiple global awards.

Rack Centre has the largest installed capacity in West Africa with a range of over 80 blue chip international, multi-national and local clients. With over 35 carriers, Internet Service Providers, Mobile Network Operators present, and hosting the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, it is regarded as the most connected, carrier neutral, Tier III certified data centre in sub-Sahara Africa, with every country on the Atlantic coast of Africa directly connected.

Commenting on the acquisition, Head of Real Estate at Actis, David Morley, said: “We have been tracking the data centre market in Africa closely, building relationships with key operators and customers. Africa is at an inflection point and we expect to see an explosion in growth of demand for hosting capacity in independently owned data centres across the continent.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Rack Centre and its parent company Jagal. Together they have built a strong business of international repute, hosting a compelling mix of customers ranging from leading Nigerian corporates to global cloud majors.”

Also, the CEO of Jagal, Maher Jarmakani, added, “Jagal is excited with its new partnership with Actis. Rack Centre has developed into a leading and respected African brand and it is now at a critical stage for investment and growth. Actis understands global and emerging markets and will be a fantastic partner for the next phase of the Rack Centre journey.”

The Managing Director, Rack Centre, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, said it was a great honour to lead the growth of Rack Centre to become one of the most respected carrier neutral data centre brands in West Africa; a household name with global recognition.

“Rack Centre is now at a key juncture and my team and I are excited with being part of the future growth. With over 750kW of installed capacity, it is now doubling capacity to 1.5MW of IT power at the current location on a trajectory to 10MW,” Coker said.

With a growing portfolio of investments across Asia, Africa and Latin America, Actis has raised over $15 billion since inception, and deployed capital across the real estate, private equity, energy and infrastructure asset classes.