Apollo Funds to Acquire Pan-European, Highly Interconnected Colocation Data Center Business from STACK Infrastructure, a portfolio company of Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure

Rhea-AI Summary

Apollo has announced the acquisition of STACK Infrastructure's European colocation data center business through Apollo-managed infrastructure funds. The deal encompasses seven strategic data centers across Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Milan, and Geneva, serving blue-chip enterprise clients including telecom carriers, IT companies, and financial institutions.

The standalone company will be led by CEO Sherif Rizkalla and will undergo rebranding, dropping the STACK Infrastructure name. The transaction allows STACK EMEA to focus primarily on hyperscale clients, while the carved-out colocation business will continue serving enterprise customers.

The deal highlights Apollo's confidence in data center infrastructure demand and interconnected colocation businesses. The existing management team and employees will transition to the new company. The transaction awaits regulatory approvals, with Latham & Watkins serving as legal counsel to Apollo Funds.

Positive

• Apollo Funds acquiring strategic European colocation data center assets across 5 key markets
• Portfolio includes high-value blue-chip enterprise clients including telecom carriers, IT companies, and financial institutions
• Management team and employees retention ensures operational continuity
• Transaction allows for focused business strategy in enterprise colocation services

Negative

• Rebranding requirement may cause temporary market recognition challenges
• Transaction subject to regulatory approvals, introducing closing uncertainty
• Carve-out structure might involve complex separation costs and operational adjustments

LONDON and NEW YORK, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that Apollo-managed infrastructure funds (the “Apollo Funds”) have agreed to acquire the European colocation business (the “Company”) developed and managed by STACK Infrastructure, a portfolio company of Blue Owl Digital Infrastructure Advisors LLC (“BODI”) in a carve-out transaction.

The Company comprises seven data center assets in strategic, highly interconnected locations across five key European markets - Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Milan and Geneva - serving the data center and connectivity needs of a diverse portfolio of blue-chip enterprise clients, including telecommunications carriers, IT and services companies and financial institutions.

Sherif Rizkalla, CEO of the Company, said: “We are delighted to partner with Apollo to accelerate growth of our business as a new, standalone company. Leveraging Apollo’s expertise in infrastructure, significant access to resources and support, we believe we are extraordinarily well-positioned to capitalize on our industry’s tailwinds and bring even more value to our customers, employees and other stakeholders.”

Adam Petrie, Partner at Apollo, said: “We are strong believers in the fundamental tailwinds behind the demand for data center infrastructure. In particular, we believe high-quality, interconnected colocation businesses with differentiated value propositions like the Company’s offer an attractive, secular growth opportunity for the long-term. We are very excited to partner with Sherif and his team in taking this business to the next level and expanding its presence across Europe.”

“A client-first approach is at the heart of STACK, which is why we established a dedicated enterprise colocation business unit in EMEA last year,” said John Eland, Chief Executive Officer, STACK EMEA. “The strategic creation of the colocation business unit enabled us to support the specialised requirements of the hyperscale sector, whilst also enabling our colocation experts to deliver exclusively on the needs of the enterprise sector. As STACK EMEA evolves to focus primarily on hyperscale clients, this transaction solidifies our commitment to hyperscale data center development and operations whilst our former enterprise colocation clients will continue to receive the highest standard of performance and support from dedicated experts.”

As part of the carve-out transaction, the management team and all employees currently operating the EMEA colocation business within STACK are expected to migrate with the Company, which will be re-branded and will no longer bear the “STACK Infrastructure” name or logo. STACK will continue its growth trajectory with a focus on hyperscale development and operations across key EMEA markets.

The transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds.

About Apollo

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2024, Apollo had approximately $751 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

About BODI

BODI is part of Blue Owl’s Real Assets platform and a leading manager of global real estate private equity funds focused exclusively on investing in the digital infrastructure sector. BODI makes investments in digital infrastructure assets, including data center assets and other technology and connectivity-related assets and service providers all on a global basis. As of December 31, 2024, the funds managed by BODI had approximately $14.2 billion in assets under management. Blue Owl is a global alternative asset manager with $251.1 billion AUM as of December 31, 2024.

About STACK Infrastructure

STACK provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. With a client-first approach, STACK delivers a comprehensive suite of campus, build-to-suit, colocation, and powered shell solutions in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions. With robust existing and flexible expansion capacity in the leading availability zones, STACK offers the scale and geographic reach that rapidly growing hyperscale and enterprise companies need. The world runs on data. Data runs on STACK.

For more information about STACK, please visit: www.stackinfra.com.

Apollo Contacts
Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
Communications@apollo.com

STACK Infrastructure Contacts
Stephanie Srikandarajah
press-emea@stackinfra.com

FAQ

What data centers is Apollo (APO) acquiring in Europe from STACK Infrastructure?

Apollo is acquiring seven data center assets across five European markets: Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Milan, and Geneva. These are colocation facilities serving blue-chip enterprise clients including telecom carriers, IT companies, and financial institutions.

How will the STACK Infrastructure data center acquisition affect Apollo (APO) in Europe?

The acquisition will give Apollo a strategic foothold in the European data center market, with highly interconnected colocation facilities across five key markets. The deal positions Apollo to capitalize on growing data center infrastructure demand and expand its European presence.

What happens to STACK Infrastructure's employees after Apollo's (APO) acquisition?

All employees currently operating STACK's EMEA colocation business will migrate to the new company. The business will be rebranded and will no longer use the STACK Infrastructure name or logo.

What is STACK Infrastructure's focus after selling its colocation business to Apollo (APO)?

After the sale, STACK will focus primarily on hyperscale data center development and operations across key EMEA markets, moving away from enterprise colocation services.

When will Apollo's (APO) acquisition of STACK Infrastructure's European data centers close?

The transaction's closing date is not specified in the press release. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions before completion.