Princeton Digital Group, an Asia-focused data center platform, backed by Warburg Pincus and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), today announced its $1bn expansion plan in China. Currently, the company owns a portfolio of 18 data centers in 12 cities, across China, Indonesia, Singapore, and India. Of these data centers, 9 facilities are operational and 9 are development projects.
Princeton Digital’s focus for its China expansion plan is to fund its key development projects in the cities of Shanghai, Nantong, and Nanjing. Moreover, the company is evaluating acquisition opportunities in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, under its 300-megawatt growth effort. As part of its $1bn expansion plan in China, Princeton Digital secured $230m in debt refinancing from China Merchants Bank.
Princeton Digital – Data Center Portfolio
Overall, Princeton Digital’s 18 data centers will comprise over 350 megawatts of power capacity, once fully built-out. The company operates carrier-neutral data centers which include both retail colocation and wholesale facilities. However, Princeton Digital’s goal is to ultimately re-position all of its data centers to serve hyperscale customers.
China
In July 2019, Princeton Digital entered the China market through the acquisition of four projects under development in Shanghai, Nantong, Nanjing, and Wuxi. Specifically, the company acquired these sites from the wholesale data center joint venture between 21Vianet and Warburg Pincus.
Additionally, Princeton Digital formed a joint venture in China with 21Vianet to operate three stabilized hyperscale data centers in Foshan, Xi’an, and Beijing.
Shanghai, Fengxian (SH1) – Development
SH1 will comprise 42 megawatts of power capacity, across 589k sqft (54.7k sqm) of floor area, once fully built-out. Indeed, Princeton Digital has fully contracted the SH1 facility in Shanghai, China.
Nantong (NT1) – Development
NT1 will comprise 60 megawatts of power capacity, across 441k sqft (41.0k sqm) of floor area, once fully built-out. Specifically, Princeton Digital has commenced design work on the NT1 campus in Nantong, China.
Nanjing (NJ1) – Development
NJ1 will comprise 43 megawatts of power capacity, across 377k sqft (35.0k sqm) of floor area, once fully built-out. Recently, Princeton Digital began construction on the NJ1 campus in Nanjing, China.
Foshan (FS1) – Operational
FS1 has been in operation since 2012.
Xi’an (XN1) – Operational
XN1 has been in operation since 2012.
Beijing (BJ1) – Operational
BJ1 has been in operation since 2017.
Indonesia
In July 2019, Princeton Digital entered the Indonesia market by acquiring a 70% stake in XL Axiata’s five data centers. Additionally, the company committed a further $100m to expansions and upgrades of the facilities.
Jakarta, Cibitung (JC1) – Operational
JC1 comprises 6 megawatts of power capacity, across 53k sqft (4.9k sqm) of floor area.
Jakarta, Bintaro (JB1) – Operational
JB1 comprises 4 megawatts of power capacity, across 23k sqft (2.1k sqm) of floor area.
Bandung (BD1) – Operational
BD1 comprises 3.4 megawatts of power capacity, across 34k sqft (3.1k sqm) of floor area.
Surabaya (SB1) – Operational
SB1 comprises 2.1 megawatts of power capacity, across 35k sqft (3.2k sqm) of floor area.
Pekanbaru (PE1) – Operational
PE1 comprises 2.1 megawatts of power capacity, across 28k sqft (2.6k sqm) of floor area.
Singapore
In September 2019, Princeton Digital entered the Singapore market by acquiring a facility from IO Data Centers, a former U.S. operator.
Singapore (SG1) – Operational
SG1 comprises 10+ megawatts of power capacity, across ~100k sqft (~9k sqm) of floor area.
India
In March 2021, Princeton Digital entered the India market through a greenfield project to develop a hyperscale facility in Mumbai.
Mumbai (MU1) – Development
MU1 will comprise 48 megawatts of power capacity, across two buildings, once it is service-ready in 2022.
Customers – Princeton Digital
Princeton Digital’s expansion plan is premised on the increasing demand requirements from its hyperscale customers, particularly in China. Overall, the company serves global businesses which are in segments including e-commerce, cloud service providers, and content. Below are select examples of Princeton Digital’s customer base in China, Indonesia, and Singapore:
- E-commerce: Amazon, Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Lazada
- Cloud Service Providers: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud
- Content: Facebook
Financial Sponsors – Princeton Digital
Princeton Digital was founded in June 2017 following a $300m equity commitment from private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Indeed, Warburg Pincus has been active in digital infrastructure, previously owning fiber company Inexio, which it sold to EQT Infrastructure. Additionally, the group formed a wholesale data center joint venture with 21Vianet in China, ultimately transferring select facilities to Princeton Digital.
In October 2020, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) made a further $360m equity commitment to Princeton Digital. At the same time, Warburg Pincus participated in this follow-on fundraising round, committing a further $200m of equity, which increases its total commitment to Princeton Digital to $500m.
Beyond Princeton Digital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has also been active in digital infrastructure and, in particular, the data center sector. Firstly, the firm owned a stake in Compass Datacenters, which it sold to Azrieli Group in July 2019. Secondly, OTPP owned Australian data center operator Metronode which it sold it sold to Equinix in December 2017.
