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NAT Warrior
By Author: Koen Stegeman -April 21, 2021
A Russian investment consortium has purchased a 100% stake in Svyaz VSD LLC, the Russian subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Linx Telecommunications Holding B.V. The purchase includes Linxdatacenter’s LinxCloud platform and two large data centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg with a total area of 13,400 square meters.
Linxdatacenter has been acquired by Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) alongside JSC ER-Telecom Holding (Dom.ru and Dom.ru business trademarks) as well as Talos Fund I LP – a leading fund from the Middle East specializing in investment in advanced technologies including AI.
Linxdatacenter provides cloud and colocation solutions at its TIER III-compliant data centers in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as well as at partner data centers in Warsaw and Frankfurt. It also offers fast connectivity to global cloud services, such as AWS and GCP. The company is certified to provide infrastructure and legal solutions in compliance with personal data legislation (FZ-152). The company’s data centers are certified under ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 22301, and PCI DSS standards.
As a business entity located in the Netherlands, Linx Telecommunications Holding B.V. was established in 2001 by multinational enterprise Koop Holding Europe B.V. and a number of private investors. Linx has invested in telecommunication infrastructure, data centers and cloud services in the Baltic region, the Russian Federation and Poland.
“With Linxdatacenter being one of the leaders in the Russian data center and cloud market for many years, the interest of such high-profile investors and their anticipation of the future evolution of the business is highly justified,” said Olga Sokolova, General Director of Linxdatacenter Russia. At the same time, the consortium has announced a joint investment in the creation of a “leading autonomous” cloud service in Russia based on Linxdatacenter assets.
The joint cloud platform would provide the necessary virtual infrastructure to the largest Russian and international enterprises for performing their key tasks, ensuring operational continuity and minimizing business risks. The cloud strategy will concentrate on expansion of the virtual services’ portfolio, particularly solutions using AI technologies, in cooperation with RDIF’s international partners.
“The investment opens up a new development opportunity for Linxdatacenter in the field of colocation and cloud services, while enabling us to preserve the company’s achievements over the last 20 years,” said Olga Sokolova, General Director of Linxdatacenter Russia. “This includes a strong customer base at enterprise level, presence in two Russian capitals, a multi-vector model of service portfolio development, a cloud strategy focus on connectivity with global providers, and an emphasis on continued improvement of management and operational processes at data centers.”
“With Linxdatacenter being one of the leaders in the Russian data center and cloud market for many years, the interest of such high-profile investors and their anticipation of the future evolution of the business is highly justified,” added Olga Sokolova. “By the end of 2020, Linxdatacenter’s cloud platform had recorded 30% business growth. New business partners will help the company to strengthen its position in the market and accelerate its growth, owing to consolidation of technical and financial resources for the Company’s long-term outlook.”
“Linxdatacenter began in 2003 as one of the first commercial data centers in Russia. Linxdatacenter has grown exponentially and the owners believe this is the right time to divest,” said Heiko H. Koop, CEO of Linx Telecommunications Holding.
“The acquisition of Linxdatacenter assets together with a strong Russian strategic player and our partner from the Middle East with access to unique technological solutions is aimed at accomplishing an ambitious goal of accelerating the development of Russia’s digital infrastructure,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. “The priority for our platform is to develop Russia’s leading cloud service based on advanced AI technologies. Successful implementation of the project will be possible by using RDIF’s experience in implementing high-tech projects, ER-Telecom’s technological support as well as the expertise of the Fund’s international partners.”
“Linxdatacenter is a pioneer in the commercial data center industry and has extensive Western managerial experience in the development, maintenance and sale of its services,” said Andrey Kuzyaev, CEO of JSC ER-Telecom Holding. “We see the joint purchase alongside RDIF of Svyaz VSD LLC as an excellent opportunity to enter the commercial cloud data center market and enhancing the service portfolio we provide for our B2B customers. Over the next two years, we plan to significantly expand the capacity of our existing data centers, and build and increase additional capacity.”
“Linxdatacenter began in 2003 as one of the first commercial data centers in Russia. For two decades, Linx has been the first-choice data center provider for international and Russian enterprises with a need for premium communication, colocation and cloud services,” said Heiko H. Koop, CEO of Linx Telecommunications Holding. “As a result of the global pandemic, Linxdatacenter has grown exponentially and the owners believe this is the right time to divest. The excellent management team and resources of the buyer’s consortium are a clear ticket to continued success.”
