NEW YORK & LONDON – 27 May 2020
KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Franek Sodzawiczny, a leading data center entrepreneur and executive, announced today the formation of Global Technical Realty (“GTR”), a build-to-suit and roll-up acquisition data center platform in Europe.
KKR will make a $1 billion equity capital commitment primarily from its infrastructure fund, which may be supplemented with additional commitments over time, to develop and build hyperscale data centers through GTR in key markets in Europe over the next several years. Alongside debt financing, KKR’s equity commitment is expected to support more than $2.5 billion of asset development and investment, including opportunities from a highly active commercial pipeline.
“The data center market in Europe presents a unique opportunity to invest behind the secular trend of increased cloud services adoption and demand for data,” said Waldemar Szlezak, Managing Director of KKR. “The 25 years of industry experience that Franek brings to the table, alongside the rest of the management team, is impressive and exactly the kind of know-how we sought out to invest in the sector.”
GTR CEO and founder Franek Sodzawiczny said, “We are thrilled to partner with KKR and to have found an investor that shares our vision for the future of the data center market. KKR’s breadth of resources and tremendous expertise will allow GTR to fully participate in this growing market and provide a solid foundation for GTR’s future growth and success.”
Franek Sodzawiczny, formerly the Founder & CEO of Zenium Data Centers and Co-Founder & CDO of Sentrum, will be joined by a number of highly experienced and reputable professionals with deep roots in the data center industry across Europe as part of the GTR management team, including Martin Carroll, formerly Lead Director, EMEA Data Center Advisory at JLL; Mark Trevor, formerly Partner and Head of EMEA Data Center Transaction and Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield and Tom Sodzawiczny, formerly Associate Director of Capital Markets at Colliers International.
GTR has partnered with Mercury Engineering, a leading European engineering contractor with deep experience in data center construction, to design and develop a data center product specifically catered to the needs of hyperscale cloud service providers.
KKR was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Global Technical Realty was advised by Charles Russell Speechlys.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
