Thursday, April 18, 2024

Blackstone to buy data center operator QTS Realty Trust for $6.7 bln - WSJ

Blackstone to buy data center operator QTS Realty Trust for $6.7 bln - WSJ
June 7, 2021

(Reuters) - Investment firm Blackstone Group Inc will buy data center operator QTS Realty Trust Inc for about $6.7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The buyout firm's infrastructure unit along with its non-traded real-estate investment trust will pay $78 per share for QTS, according to the report.

The price represents a premium of about 21% to QTS' closing price on Friday.

A COVID-19 pandemic-led remote working environment boosted demand for cloud services, which are reliant on data centers. QTS has more than 7 million square feet of data center space throughout North America and Europe.

The transaction is valued at about $10 billion, including the assumption of the data center operator's existing debt, the report said.

Blackstone and QTS did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.