• OADC secures approval to acquire seven NTT Data centres in South Africa

• Deal expands footprint in Africa’s largest data centre market

• Expansion backed by $65 million loan, part of $500 million investment plan

Open Access Data Centres (OADC) said it will acquire new facilities in South Africa after receiving approval from the country’s Competition Commission last week.

The WIOCC Group subsidiary is expanding in a market valued at about $580 million, according to data from Mordor Intelligence.

The acquired assets include seven data centre facilities currently operated by NTT Data in South Africa, located in Bloemfontein, Cape Town, East London, Gqeberha and Umhlanga, as well as Bryanston and Parklands in Johannesburg. The transaction includes associated infrastructure and equipment, supplier and lease contracts, and the land on which the Parklands data centre is located.

The facilities provide a full range of services, including colocation, network and connectivity services, as well as data centre implementation and management.

According to its website, OADC currently operates four hyperscale data centres in South Africa, located in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, along with about 30 smaller edge data centres.

The approval comes days after WIOCC secured a $65 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco, Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF), Asia Infrastructure Fund and asset manager Ninety One. The financing forms part of a commitment made shortly after OADC’s launch in November 2021 to invest $500 million over five years to expand its footprint across Africa. WIOCC had previously raised $200 million to support the platform’s launch.

South Africa’s data centre market, the largest in Africa, continues to grow rapidly, driven by accelerating digital transformation. Mordor Intelligence estimates the market will reach $1.25 billion by 2030, while Arizton Advisory & Intelligence forecasts it could reach $3.4 billion over the same period. Arizton said a large consumer market, regulations favouring local data storage and a vibrant technology sector are driving growth and making South Africa a key destination for data centre investment on the continent.

Isaac K. Kassouwi