Equinix Bids on the APAC Cloud Demand – Settles Acquisition of Bit-isle

Equinix is all set to continue its procurement fest, according to the first learning Equinix has agreed to acquire Tokyo-based datacentre provider Bit-isle for $280m.

According to Equinix, demand for its network-neutral interconnection services is growing fast in Asia-Pacific, and adding Bit-isle’s services to its portfolio should open up cross-selling opportunities in the enterprise and systems integrator community.

Kohei Terada, president and CEO of Bit-isle, said merging with Equinix would help the business expand and scale, while addressing the needs of its existing customers.

“The opportunity to integrate with Equinix, the number one datacentre operator in the world, enables us to maintain our neutral position, while providing access to the most densely interconnected networks and cloud services, and gives our customers access to datacentres in 33 markets globally,” he said.

“We will continue to support Japanese companies in Japan, and in every market where they do business.”

Steve Smith, president and CEO of Equinix, said the locations of Bit-isle’s datacentres, and its attitude towards cloud computing, were important factors in its decision to acquire the company.

“Equinix will be in a strong position to attract Japanese enterprises. Both Equinix and Bit-isle have the same vision for cloud computing, and Bit-isle’s five datacentres are in the best locations in Tokyo,” said Smith.

“The company’s strong local leadership, business and network operations teams will greatly enhance our strength in this important market and we look forward to bringing them into the Equinix family.”

The next fest is expected to acquire rival datacentre provider TelecityGroup, in the face of growing enterprise demand for cloud services.

The deal is expected to close in early 2016, and if it happens, the company will become Japan’s fourth largest datacentre operator, with 10 facilities in the country.