Brookfield’s Data4 to Invest $331M in New Athens Site

(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield-backed Data4 will invest around €300 million ($331 million) to build and develop a new hub in Greece amid increasing demand for data centers driven by artificial intelligence services.

The Paris-based company is in talks with existing lenders and Greek banks to fund the majority of the project with new debt, chief executive officer Olivier Micheli said in an interview with Bloomberg. The new campus will be in Paiania, near Athens. 

Greece is a strategic link connecting Europe to the Middle East and Africa and is the landing point of several major submarine cables, Micheli said. The new site is a “significant contribution to the local economy and digital ecosystem.”

The company specializes in the design, construction, and management of data centers in Europe and has a plan to expand with €7 billion of investments by 2030. Including Greece, it operates in six countries and is considering one or two additional markets across the continent, Micheli said.

Owner Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, which bought Data4 from Axa IM in 2023, is weighing a minority stake sale for some of the firm’s assets, Bloomberg previously reported. Citigroup is helping to tap investors for the so-called stabilized assets, fully constructed data centers with high and stable tenancy rates. Initial bids are expected this month.

Related:Blackstone to Buy Australia’s AirTrunk in $16B Deal

Data centers, mobile phone towers, and fiber networks have become popular targets for investors, given their stable returns and strong growth prospects as reliance upon technology grows. Blackstone recently agreed to buy Australian data center operator AirTrunk in a deal valuing it at A$24 billion ($16.1 billion).