Caisse invests in cloud-computing industry

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is investing in the cloud-computing industry by helping Montreal-based eStruxture Data Centers Inc. create a Canada-wide platform.

The platform will serve the increasing demand for large, energy-efficient data centres, driven by the adoption of cloud services and a move to store data within Canada, according to a news release.

The initial $80 million in capital raised will help eStruxture to expand its footprint across Canada through the acquisition of existing data centre operators and new data centre development.

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The company “is backed by seasoned managers whose expertise will benefit local, national and international companies alike that are adopting cloud computing to improve efficiency,” said Christian Dubé, executive vice-president for Quebec at the Caisse, in the release. “We believe in the company’s business model and aim to support it in its expansion across Canada.”

eStruxture completed its first acquisition by purchasing the assets of Netelligent Hosting Services, one of the largest data centre operators in Montreal.

“Cloud adoption and the overall proliferation of data is driving increased demand for hyper-scaled, enterprise class data centres to support processing and storage capacity,” said Todd Coleman, president and chief executive officer of eStruxture.

“The Canadian market provides competitive advantages that global customers, looking to process and store their data in North America, find appealing, including the low energy costs, cooler climate and business-friendly regulatory framework,” he added.

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