Proximus has reached an agreement with the Belgian service provider Datacenter United for the sale of its datacenter business, valued at 128 million euros. This strategic move will allow Proximus to focus on its hybrid cloud strategy and the provision of integrated IT services, while its customers will continue to benefit from cutting-edge infrastructure, with data hosted in Belgium and managed by a specialized partner.
Scope of the Agreement
The transaction is structured as a transfer of a business unit to a new entity created and controlled by Datacenter United. The sale includes Proximus’s datacenters in Evere, Mechelen, and Machelen, as well as supplier contracts, a portion of customer contracts, and the transfer of employees and subcontractors dedicated to datacenter activities.
These datacenters offer a total capacity of approximately 11 MW, serving both Proximus’s internal IT applications and business clients for hosting and colocation services. Following the transaction, Proximus will sign a ten-year master services agreement (MSA) to ensure the continuity of datacenter services, in addition to a multi-year lease agreement for office space and telecommunications in Evere and Mechelen.
The colocation and rental rates paid by Proximus will be partly offset by savings in OPEX (operational expenses) and reduced investment in CAPEX (capital expenditures), due to lower infrastructure modernization costs.
Strengthening Integrated IT Services for Clients
In a constantly changing technological environment, Proximus relies on specialized local partners to provide integrated solutions that help organizations manage IT complexity and leverage new technologies. Collaboration with a datacenter operations expert like Datacenter United will enable Proximus to deepen its focus on integrated IT services, following its hybrid cloud strategy that combines public and private cloud solutions with on-premise services.
Through this agreement, Proximus ensures that its customers maintain access to advanced datacenter operations managed by a recognized partner. Founded in 2010, Datacenter United currently operates nine datacenters in Belgium, establishing itself as a reliable and sustainable provider capable of managing large-scale infrastructure and implementing continuous technological improvements.
Alignment with Proximus’s bold2025 Corporate Strategy
The sale of the datacenters, with an enterprise value of 128 million euros, fits within Proximus’s bold2025 strategy, which aims to optimize its asset portfolio and focus its efforts on core activities. The transaction is an important step toward the divestment goal of 500 million euros that Proximus expects to achieve by 2027.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, once regulatory approvals are obtained and dialogue regarding the affected employee transfer is completed.
This move underscores Proximus’s intention to evolve and adapt to the modern IT landscape, optimizing its resources and aligning with current market demands for infrastructure services and cloud management.
via: Proximus