GI Partners exits from US data business

London-based private equity firm GI Partners has exited its investment in The Telx Group through a sale to a pair of US firms.


London-based private equity firm GI Partners has exited its investment in The Telx Group through a sale to a pair of US firms.

London-based private equity firm GI Partners has exited its investment in The Telx Group through a sale to a pair of US firms.

GI Partners initially acquired the US data centre operator in 2006, and has now handed over control to private equity firms ABRY Partners and Berkshire Partners for an undisclosed amount.

Howard Park, managing director at GI Partners, comments: ‘We are pleased with the performance of Telx under our ownership and the gains we and the management team have achieved.’

Through its 15 locations Telx provides access to 900 telecommunication carriers, ISPs, content providers, technology companies and global enterprises.

According to a statement, GI Partners ‘significantly’ expanded the management team with the appointment of ‘industry veteran’ Eric Shepcaro, who was given the role of chief executive officer.

As part of the deal Telx has postponed plans to float shares in an initial public offering.

During GI Partners’ tenure, Telx achieved a reported top line growth of 40 per cent.

Shepcaro says that joining forces with Berkshire and ABRY will allow it to continue to work closely with its partners to provide interconnection product and data centre services as it looks to ‘meet the increased volumes of data and voice traffic’.

Founded in 2001, GI Partners focuses on ‘control-orientated’ investments. Included in its portfolio are businesses in the IT infrastructure, specialist healthcare, financial services and media sectors.

Following its exit from Telx, GI Partners’ IT-focused portfolio companies include SoftLayer Technologies and ViaWest.

Evercore Partners and Paul Hastings advised Telx on the deal.

Todd Cardy

Adelbert Swaniawski

Todd was Editor of GrowthBusiness.co.uk between 2010 and 2011 as well as being responsible for publishing our digital and printed magazines focusing on private equity and venture capital. Connect with...

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