BOSTON, September 24, 2018 – Great Hill Partners, a leading growth-oriented private equity firm, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its controlling interest in Ascenty Holdings, LLC, the largest provider of data center and fiber infrastructure services in Brazil, to Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR). The transaction values the company at over $1.8 billion.
“We are incredibly proud of Great Hill’s tenure as the majority investor at Ascenty, where we worked closely with CEO Chris Torto and his leadership team to expand the company’s initial platform to 14 data centers and a nearly 4,500 km fiber network,” stated John Hayes, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Great Hill Partners and Chairman of the Board of Ascenty. “It has been an exciting and rewarding journey to partner with Chris for the third time, and we are pleased that together we successfully built the largest data center company in Brazil.”
Ascenty’s data center and fiber network expertise, as well as its dedicated focus on client service, have helped the company become the provider of choice for hyperscale cloud companies and multinational corporations seeking comprehensive data center solutions in the region.
“From the start, Great Hill shared our vision to grow Ascenty and seize the opportunity to become the premium provider of data center infrastructure and source for high bandwidth and reliable connectivity in Latin America,” said Torto. “It has been a privilege to work with the team at Great Hill again. Their experience, resources, and guidance have been instrumental in helping us develop competitive advantages in comprehensive data center solutions, strategic fiber network utility, and customer service.”
“Ascenty is an excellent example of Great Hill’s proven investment approach of partnering with talented leadership to build strategic assets and drive long-term growth,” said Drew Loucks, a Principal at Great Hill and Board Member of Ascenty. “We appreciate the outstanding execution of the Ascenty management team, and believe the company is well-positioned to continue its exponential growth.”
Digital Realty separately expects to enter into a joint venture with Brookfield Infrastructure related to the Ascenty transaction. DH Capital is serving as financial advisor, and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP is serving as legal counsel to Ascenty and Great Hill Partners on the pending transaction.
For Digital Realty:
John Christiansen / Scott Lindlaw / Lindsay Andrews
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
(415) 618-8750
About Great Hill Partners
Great Hill Partners is a private equity firm that has raised over $5 billion in commitments since inception to finance the expansion, recapitalization, or acquisition of growth companies in a wide range of sectors in business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries including software, financial and healthcare technology, digital media, eCommerce, and internet infrastructure. Great Hill targets investments of $25 million to $200 million. For more information, visit www.greathillpartners.com.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of more than 2,300 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty’s clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and consumer products. www.digitalrealty.com
About Ascenty
Ascenty is the largest data center provider in Brazil, with 14 data centers. The company was founded in 2010 and has focused on building world-class data centers while serving some of the largest global technology companies. All the company’s data centers are interconnected using a proprietary 4,500 km fiber-optic network. For further information about Ascenty, please visit: www.ascenty.com.
