Equinix closes $320M MainOne deal for African expansion

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has officially made its entry into Africa by completing a deal to acquire a West African data center and connectivity solutions provider, MainOne, for US$320 million.

This is the start of Equinix' long-term strategy to become a leading African carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company by bringing a full range of transformative technologies and connectivity to Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

The MainOne deal was first announced in December 2021, and will extend Platform Equinix into West Africa, giving organizations based inside and outside Africa access to global and regional markets.

Equinix said that Nigeria is home to new innovative digital ecosystems in fintech, content and digital media and offers a great opportunity for expansion of digital services.

Nigeria also has the largest population and the largest economy of any country in Africa and has over 143 million active Internet subscribers, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Equinix believes MainOne, headquartered in Lagos, is one of the most exciting technology businesses to emerge from Africa, and Lagos is rapidly becoming a key connectivity hub for the wider West Africa region.

Founded by Funke Opeke in 2010, the company has enabled connectivity for the Nigerian business community and now has digital infrastructure assets, including three operational data centers, with an additional facility in Lagos expected to open in April 2022.

Opeke will continue to lead the company as CEO but under a new brand of "MainOne, an Equinix company."

MainOne's assets also include an extensive submarine network extending 7,000 kilometers from Portugal to West Africa, with landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

The company also has a terrestrial network of more than 1,200 kilometers of fiber in Nigeria's Lagos, Edo and Ogun States. Connectivity to terrestrial sites extends across 65 points of presence (PoPs) in cities across four countries.

— The Staff, Connecting Africa