Sentinel Gets Equity Investment from Kelso

Data center developer Sentinel Data Centers has received an equity investment from Kelso & Company, a New York investment firm, the company said today. Under the terms of the partnership, Kelso will team with Sentinel’s founders to invest up to $300 million of equity capital for expansion.

Sentinel also announced the closing of a $90 million loan led by M&T Bank to complete its 330,000 square foot data center in Somerset, New Jersey. Sentinel recently completed the first 140,000 square foot phase of its NJ-1 facility, which has been certified for gold status under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program for energy efficient buildings.

Shared Vision for Expansion

The additional funding positions Sentinel for additional growth as the market for wholesale data center space gains momentum. The company has not announced any additional projects, but says it is "currently pursuing enterprise-anchored data center construction projects in multiple geographies."

"We are thrilled to have Kelso as a new partner for our next stage of growth," said Todd Aaron, Sentinel’s Co-Founder and Co-President. "Kelso’s team shares our vision for the business and their long-term investment horizon will enable us to continue to grow at a measured pace with an emphasis on quality over quantity. Our singular focus remains the development of thoughtfully designed facility solutions tailored specifically to the reliability, efficiency, flexibility and reporting requirements of the large, quality-sensitive enterprise."

“We believe that large-footprint data center users will increasingly appreciate the value proposition of multi-tenant data centers and that premium-quality, engineering-focused providers like Sentinel will continue to gain share,” said Hank Mannix of Kelso. “Sentinel’s ten-year track record of delivering best-in-class solutions to an extremely impressive roster of blue chip corporations ideally positions them for continued growth and we are excited to be their partner.”

Founded in 2001, Sentinel Data Centers was an early pioneer in the "wholesale" data center business. Sentinel operated three data centers in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which the company sold to Digital Realty Trust.

Kelso & Company has made investments in more than 110 companies and has managed eight private equity partnerships with total capital committed of over $10 billion. The firm is currently investing its eighth partnership, Kelso Investment Associates VIII, L.P., with $5.1 billion of committed capital. Kelso focuses its efforts and resources primarily on investment opportunities in growing middle market companies.