Compass Datacenters has completed the acquisition of ROOT Data Center, a leading wholesale data center provider in Montreal, Quebec. The acquisition helps Compass extend its footprint into strategic Montreal market. This is Compass’ first step outside the US market. The companies did not disclose how much Compass is paying for Root.
AJ Byers, CEO of ROOT, will be joining Compass as the company’s President, International. He commented, “We are excited to join the Compass team. Our existing customers now have access to strategic U.S. markets, while Compass’s customers benefit from what Montreal brings. In particular, Montreal’s ample fiber capacity and inexpensive supply of renewable power via Hydro-Québec enables cloud/hyperscale companies to achieve their sustainability goals while also growing at the pace necessary to meet demand.”
The ROOT acquisition is the first by Compass since its recently announced plan to develop up to $3 billion in new data center campuses. It included follow-on additional capital from existing investors, RedBird Capital Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, as well as new investment partner the Azrieli Group, a leading Israeli real estate development company. Following the acquisition, Compass has the capacity to expand up to 375MW of IT load across its current campuses.
“We are pleased to announce this acquisition and welcome the ROOT team to Compass. Our team has been impressed with what AJ and his team have built and their strong reputation with customers. We have an exceptional alignment of culture and experienced personnel, emphasizing the use of standardized components and processes to facilitate rapid data center delivery for our customers,” said Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters.
ROOT is a next-generation data center company that provides both enterprise and wholesale colocation solutions. The company operates two facilities in the region—MTL – R1 and MTL – R2. The facilities are Tier 3, carrier neutral and designed to achieve an energy-efficient PUE of 1.17. MTL – R1 is a 46,000 sqft. campus built for both retail and wholesale customers, comprised of two data centers. The campus can host 15MW of power capacity. MTL – R2 is a 175,000 sqft. facility. With the completion of its greenfield expansion at MTL-R1, ROOT will offer 65 MW of premium capacity to the Montréal market.
