Canada 15Edge Data Centers (C15Edge), a Toronto-based retail colocation provider, today announced that it has combined with Whipcord, an Alberta-based cloud and colocation provider, to form Whipcord Edge Data Centers.
Canada 15Edge Data Centers – Overview
In 2015, Canada 15Edge opened its 1-megawatt data center in Etobicoke, part of Toronto’s west-end. The facility is situated within a 15-minute drive of Toronto Pearson Airport and downtown Toronto. Additionally, Canada 15Edge has options on expansion capacity through space in close proximity.
In terms of customers, Canada 15Edge targets managed service providers and small cloud service providers. For example, ManagedWay Company has established a point-of-presence (PoP) in Canada 15Edge’s data center.
Fiber Connectivity
Canada 15Edge’s facility is fed by multiple fiber connections through diverse building entry points, which connect to the building’s meet-me room. Indeed, fiber travels below and above ground through different street routes to redundant telecommunications central office termination points. Network providers to Canada 15Edge’s data center include Bell Canada, Cogeco, and Cogent Communications.
Whipcord – Overview
Whipcord’s data center is located in Lethbridge, Alberta, which is the province’s third largest population center, after Calgary and Edmonton. Specifically, the Whipcord facility offers 1.5 megawatts of power capacity, across 7.5k sqft of colocation space. Importantly, the site’s 2.5-megawatt dedicated feed from the city of Lethbridge is expandable to 5 megawatts.
Transaction Rationale – Canada 15Edge and Whipcord
Overall, Canada 15Edge Data Centers’ combination with Whipcord showcases the need for two low-cost retail colocation providers to gain scale, in order to effectively compete. Indeed, many of the higher-cost and more scaled retail colocation providers in Canada, including Cyxtera Technologies, EdgeConneX, Equinix, and eStruxture, have recently been bulking-up their presence in the country. Specifically, Dgtl Infra notes the following two recent examples of retail colocation M&A in Canada:
Data Centers – Precedent M&A Transactions – Canada
Firstly, in June 2020, Equinix announced the acquisition of 13 data centers in Canada from Bell Canada, for $1.0bn Canadian dollars ($780m USD). Secondly, in March 2021, eStruxture announced that it will acquire eight data centers in Canada from Aptum Technologies.
Customer Service
Beyond the need to scale, the combination of Canada 15Edge (C15Edge) and Whipcord, into Whipcord Edge Data Centers, will support the growth of the company’s customers in both Eastern and Western Canada. Indeed, having both Toronto and Alberta-based locations allows Whipcord Edge to provide geo-redundancy and cross-Canada network access for its clients.
