TierPoint Secures $500m Investment from Argo Infrastructure

TierPoint, LLC, a retail colocation and managed services provider focused on the enterprise data center segment, today announced that it has closed on a $500m investment from Argo Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure private equity firm, making Argo the largest single equity investor in TierPoint. Notably, this transaction follows Argo Infrastructure’s participation in TierPoint’s $320m preferred equity raise, which closed in April 2020.

Proceeds from Argo Infrastructure’s new $500m funding will be used to provide partial liquidity to other TierPoint investors, as well as to fund investment in TierPoint’s data center network. Beyond Argo Infrastructure, TierPoint is also backed by Cequel III, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), RedBird Capital Partners, Stephens Group, Thompson Street Capital Partners, Wafra, and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance.

TierPoint – Overview

TierPoint is a provider of data center and cloud solutions including private, multi-tenant, managed hyperscale, and hybrid cloud, plus colocation, disaster recovery, security, and other managed IT services. The company serves thousands of enterprises and public sector customers.

Data Centers

TierPoint operates 41 data centers in 20 markets of the United States, which are connected by a low-latency network. Predominantly, TierPoint’s data centers span Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets in 18 states, including Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Collectively, TierPoint’s 41 data centers comprise over 756k sqft of raised floor space and 2.27 million sqft in total facility size. Below is a breakdown of TierPoint’s facilities:

TierPoint – Data Center Portfolio

Transaction Advisors – TierPoint and Argo Infrastructure

TierPoint’s legal advisor was Paul Hastings. Additionally, Argo Infrastructure’s legal advisor was Mayer Brown.

Argo Infrastructure Partners – Overview

Argo Infrastructure Partners is an infrastructure private equity firm which has over $5bn of assets under management (AUM). In April 2021, Argo closed its third fund with $2bn+ in equity capital commitments.

Argo invests in the infrastructure sectors of public utilities (natural gas, water, and electric), renewables & power, electric transmission, energy storage, and digital. Notably, Argo Infrastructure’s investment in TierPoint appears to be the firm’s first in the digital sector of infrastructure.

Within these sectors, the firm targets investments in infrastructure businesses and assets with sustainable cash yields over their long operational lives.

Limited Partners and Co-Investors

Argo Infrastructure Partners’ key limited partner (LP) and co-investor relationships include:

• CalSTRS (California State Teachers’ Retirement System): co-invested alongside Argo in the acquisition of Hawaii Gas from Macquarie Infrastructure
• APG (Dutch pension fund): co-invested alongside Argo in the acquisition of Hawaii Gas from Macquarie Infrastructure
• Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS): committed $130m to one of Argo’s infrastructure funds in 2017