Linklaters has advised Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) on its acquisition (alongside Equinix, Inc.) of atNorth, a leading Nordic high density colocation and built to suit data centre provider, from Partners Group at an enterprise value of US$4.0 billion.
CPP Investments and Equinix have entered into a joint agreement under which CPP Investments will invest approximately US$1.6 billion and will hold an approximate 60 per cent controlling interest in atNorth, with Equinix holding an approximate 40 per cent stake. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be immediately accretive to Equinix’s adjusted funds from operations per share upon closing.
atNorth’s portfolio includes eight operational data centers alongside several sites under development across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as plans for further expansion, with 1 GW of secured power and a considerable amount of additional future capacity planned. Designed to meet increasing demand for AI and high-performance computing, several of the company’s facilities are liquid cooling-enabled to support high-density workloads. Across its portfolio, atNorth integrates renewable energy sourcing, heat reuse initiatives and efficient modular design to advance circular economy principles and minimize environmental impact.
The Linklaters team advising CPP Investments was led by partners Michael Honan and Ben Suen, alongside partners Rich Jones and John Tsui, and managing associates Ksenija Brajovic and Akmal Chunara. Linklaters also advised both CPP Investments and Equinix on the debt financing aspects of the transaction, led by partner Ross Schloeffel and supported by managing associate Jeremy Tan.
This is another market leading transaction that we have supported CPPIB on and follows the two Q4 2025 transactions we also advised CPPIB on:
- CPPIB’s establishment of a A$14 billion (€8 billion) European data centre partnership with Goodman Group.
- CPPIB’s acquisition of Castrol alongside Stonepeak, from BP p.l.c for enterprise value of approximately US$10.1 billion.
