Prime Highlights
- A public listing could value Vantage near $100 billion, making it the largest data center IPO ever.
- Vantage recently teamed with Oracle and OpenAI on a Wisconsin data center tied to Stargate.
Key Facts
- Vantage Data Centers is backed by Silver Lake and DigitalBridge Group.
- The company has raised about $11 billion since late 2023, including a $9.2 billion equity round.
Background
Hyperscale data center developer Vantage Data Centers is looking into strategic options, including a possible stock market debut or an outright sale, that could take shape as early as next year, people close to the matter said. The move follows a wave of AI-fueled demand that has pushed data center valuations higher and spurred a flurry of deals across the industry.
Vantage is backed by private equity firm Silver Lake and infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group. Sources said the company could raise close to $10 billion through a public listing that values it near $100 billion, a figure that would make it the biggest data center IPO on record. A sale of the company, or possibly just a stake in it, is also being weighed as an alternative path.
In recent weeks, Vantage has held early-stage talks about possible exit routes and has met informally with financial advisers to discuss the options, according to the sources. They stressed that no formal process is underway yet, and that details such as timing, structure and deal size could still shift substantially or fall apart entirely.
Since late 2023, Vantage has pulled in about $11 billion in funding, including a $9.2 billion equity injection led by DigitalBridge and Silver Lake. The company also recently teamed up with Oracle and OpenAI to build a data center campus in Wisconsin, part of the Stargate initiative, a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle aimed at developing up to $500 billion and 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure.
Public listings are making a comeback more broadly in the data center space. Rival operator Switch has reportedly brought on banks to prepare an IPO that could value it around $80 billion, and CyrusOne is said to be laying groundwork for its own listing, possibly by 2027.