GI Partners Closes Continuation Vehicle and Strategic Investment from GI Data Infrastructure in Flexential

Rhea-AI Summary

GI Partners has announced significant investments in Flexential through a single-asset continuation vehicle anchored by Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) and GI Data Infrastructure. Combined with a previous investment from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Flexential has secured approximately $1 billion in primary equity for data center development.

The capital injection comes at a crucial time as the data center market faces record-low vacancy rates, historic high pricing, and power constraints. The funding will accelerate Flexential's development of next-generation data centers and expand its high-density colocation presence across 40+ data centers in 18 markets through its FlexAnywhere® platform.

The investment addresses growing AI infrastructure demands, as 44% of organizations identify infrastructure as the primary barrier to AI adoption according to Flexential's 2025 State of AI Infrastructure Report.

Positive

• Secured approximately $1 billion in primary equity funding for data center development
• Strategic expansion potential in capacity-constrained markets with high demand
• Strong investor confidence demonstrated through oversubscribed continuation vehicle
• Positioned to capitalize on AI and enterprise computing growth opportunities

Negative

• Industry faces significant power constraints and lengthening deployment lead times
• Market experiencing record-low vacancy rates in primary markets
• High capital requirements for infrastructure development and expansion

Insights

Private Equity & Infrastructure Investment Analyst

GI Partners secures $1B for Flexential's data center expansion amid record low vacancy rates and surging AI demand.

GI Partners has executed a complex transaction that provides Flexential with approximately $1 billion in primary equity capital through two simultaneous investments: an oversubscribed single-asset continuation vehicle anchored by Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) and funding from GI Data Infrastructure. This capital infusion, combined with the earlier Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners investment from November 2024, creates a substantial war chest specifically earmarked for data center development.

The transaction structure is particularly noteworthy as it gives existing GI Partners limited partners optionality – they could either liquidate their positions or participate in Flexential's next growth phase. This approach demonstrates sophisticated portfolio management while addressing the critical timing mismatch between private equity fund lifecycles and the long-term capital requirements of infrastructure assets like data centers.

The investment thesis hinges on several converging market factors: record-low vacancy rates in primary data center markets, historically high pricing, power constraints creating deployment bottlenecks, and surging demand from AI applications. Flexential's own research indicates that 44% of organizations view infrastructure as the primary barrier to AI adoption – positioning the company's expansion as a direct solution to this market pain point.

Flexential's FlexAnywhere® platform, which integrates colocation, cloud, connectivity, and data protection services across over 40 data centers in 18 markets, provides the company with a competitive differentiation by supporting latency-sensitive workloads that are increasingly critical for AI model training and inference. This capital will accelerate Flexential's ability to secure power commitments and bring capacity online faster in constrained markets – crucial capabilities as data center development lead times have extended significantly due to power availability challenges.

For Hamilton Lane shareholders, this transaction represents the firm's continued execution of its alternative investment strategy, specifically in the infrastructure and digital assets category that has shown resilience even during economic uncertainty.

Flexential Secures Approximately $1B in Capital Investment to Drive Next-Generation Data Center Development

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GI Partners, a leading private investment firm, today announced the simultaneous closing of investments by an oversubscribed, single-asset continuation vehicle and GI Data Infrastructure in Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions. Both the continuation vehicle, anchored by funds managed by Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE), and the GI Data Infrastructure investment offered existing GI Partners limited partners the option to receive liquidity and provide Flexential with additional equity capital to meet rising demand from enterprise and AI customers.

The new capital will accelerate Flexential's development of next-generation data centers and strengthen its high-density colocation presence across the United States. Together with the investment from funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), which closed in November 2024, Flexential has now raised approximately $1 billion of primary equity to fund the development of its data center pipeline.

"This transaction validates our conviction in Flexential's leadership position in the data center market," said Travis Pearson, Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity at GI Partners. "We are excited to continue our partnership with the Flexential team and look forward to supporting the company's next phase of growth."

"Flexential plays a critical role in the digital infrastructure ecosystem, supporting latency-sensitive enterprise, AI, and cloud workloads for a diverse base of blue-chip customers," said Mark Prybutok, Managing Director and Head of GI Data Infrastructure. "We are excited to partner with the company and look forward to contributing to its future success." As part of the transaction, Mr. Prybutok has also been appointed to Flexential's Board of Directors.

"This transaction strengthens our ability to deliver long-term infrastructure projects and secures the capital needed to keep pace with surging demand for AI and enterprise computing," said Chris Downie, CEO of Flexential. "It was made possible by the confidence existing and new investors have in our strategy, and it further positions Flexential to meet the complex needs of organizations across the country."

The funding comes as vacancy rates in primary markets have dropped to record lows, data center pricing has approached historic highs, and power constraints are lengthening lead times for new deployments. In its 2025 State of AI Infrastructure Report, Flexential found that 44% of organizations believe infrastructure is the biggest barrier to AI adoption.

Flexential is tackling these issues through targeted expansion and sustained investment in its facilities and capabilities — including its FlexAnywhere^® platform, which unites colocation, cloud, connectivity, and data protection services across 40+ data centers in 18 markets. The platform enables faster, more precise delivery, while supporting the scale and performance needs of latency-sensitive workloads, AI model training and inference, and multi-cloud operations.

"This capital enables us to accelerate site acquisition, guarantee power commitments, and bring projects online more quickly," said Ryan Mallory, President and COO of Flexential. "We'll be able to expand in capacity-constrained markets and pursue new opportunities while we continue to deliver the scale, reliability, and interconnection capabilities our customers depend on."

Baird and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisors, and Ropes & Gray LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisors to GI Partners. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal advisor to Hamilton Lane.

About GI Partners

Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with over 180 employees and offices in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Greenwich, Scottsdale, and London. The firm has raised more than $47 billion and invests on behalf of leading institutional investors around the world through its private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the healthcare, services, and software sectors. The real estate team focuses primarily on technology and healthcare properties as well as other specialized types of real estate. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.

About Flexential

Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable IT solutions designed for today's demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere^® platform anchors our services in 40+ data centers across 18 highly connected markets on a scalable 100Gbps+ private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.

About Hamilton Lane

Hamilton Lane (Nasdaq: HLNE) is one of the largest private markets investment firms globally, providing innovative solutions to institutional and private wealth investors around the world. Dedicated exclusively to private markets investing for more than 30 years, the firm currently employs approximately 750 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Hamilton Lane has approximately $986 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of nearly $141 billion in discretionary assets and more than $845 billion in non-discretionary assets, as of June 30, 2025. Hamilton Lane specializes in building flexible investment programs that provide clients access to the full spectrum of private markets strategies, sectors and geographies. For more information, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn.  

Media Contact:

GI Partners

Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
+1 (914) 834-4334
chris@tofallipr.com

Gretchen Robinson
Investor Relations
pr@gipartners.com

Flexential

Alison Brooker
Corporate Marketing
alison.brooker@flexential.com

Christian Rizzo
Gregory FCA for Flexential
christian@gregoryfca.com

Hamilton Lane

Tia Wilson
twilson@hamiltonlane.com
+1 (484) 816-6982

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gi-partners-closes-continuation-vehicle-and-strategic-investment-from-gi-data-infrastructure-in-flexential-302534346.html

SOURCE GI Partners

FAQ

How much capital did Flexential secure in their latest funding round?

Flexential secured approximately $1 billion in primary equity through investments from GI Partners' continuation vehicle, GI Data Infrastructure, and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.

What is the current state of data center market conditions in 2025?

The market is experiencing record-low vacancy rates in primary markets, historic high pricing, and significant power constraints that are extending lead times for new deployments.

How many data centers does Flexential operate in 2025?

Flexential operates over 40 data centers across 18 markets through its FlexAnywhere® platform, providing colocation, cloud, connectivity, and data protection services.

What percentage of organizations see infrastructure as an AI adoption barrier?

According to Flexential's 2025 State of AI Infrastructure Report, 44% of organizations identify infrastructure as the biggest barrier to AI adoption.

Who are the key investors in Flexential's latest funding round?

The key investors include GI Partners through a continuation vehicle anchored by Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE), GI Data Infrastructure, and previously Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP).