Data Center Exec-Led Digital Infrastructure SPAC Raises $250M in IPO

InterPrivate IV InfraTech Partners, a digital infrastructure SPAC, went public last week, raising $250 million. Its leadership includes several seasoned data center industry executives, meaning it will likely be looking to merge with a large data center operator looking to raise capital on the public markets.

The blank-check company’s CEO is Kevin Timmons, former CTO of CyrusOne, one of the world’s largest publicly traded data center providers. Its board of directors includes former CyrusOne CEO Gary Wojtaszek and Peter Gross, a well-known figure in the data center industry whose last executive gig was leading the data center business of Bloom Energy.

Bloomberg reported that the SPAC was in the works, and that Timmons and Wojtaszek were involved, in February.

InterPrivate IV is after mergers with companies in technology, media, and telco infrastructure space with enterprise value of $1 billion and up, the company said in a press release. Although it also said it “may pursue initial business combination targets in any industry.”

The SPAC, created by the private equity firm InterPrivate, floated 25 million shares on Nasdaq Friday, pricing them at $10 apiece. The stock, under the ticker symbol IPVIU, traded slightly above the initial price Monday.

Much like in other corners of the tech industry, SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) are a hot trend in the business of data centers and the broader digital infrastructure space, which also includes network infrastructure and wireless towers.

Just two weeks ago, Cyxtera Technologies, one of the world’s largest data center providers, announced a merger deal with the Starboard Value Acquisition Corp. SPAC, becoming the first data center operator to use this route to public markets. The deal valued Cyxtera at $3.4 billion.

Vertiv, one of the biggest vendors of data center electrical and mechanical equipment, merged with a SPAC early last year.

SPACs are organizations that pool investor money and go public before merging with actual businesses. The mergers effectively give the businesses a relatively quick and easy path to go public, something that takes much more time and resources if done the traditional way.

SPACs’ popularity skyrocketed last year, which has been attributed primarily to investors being worried that the pandemic would dampen traditional IPOs.