Proximus has reached an agreement with the Belgium-based service provider Datacenter United on the sale of its datacenter business. While customers will continue to benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure, with data stored in Belgium and managed by an expert partner, Proximus will continue to pursue its hybrid cloud strategy and further sharpen its focus on delivering value added services to customers as an IT integrator. This sale agreement aligns with Proximus' strategic goal of monetizing assets as part of its EUR 500 million asset divestment plan.

Scope of the agreement

The transaction is structured as a transfer of branch of activity into a newly incorporated entity owned by Datacenter United. The sale encompasses the datacenter infrastructure in Evere, Mechelen and Machelen, including the Proximus-owned real estate on the former two locations, the supplier contracts and part of the housing customer contracts. Furthermore, Proximus has the intention to transfer the employees and subcontractors dedicated to the datacenter activities to this new entity.

Together, these datacenters today deliver a total capacity of circa 11 MW, serving both Proximus internal IT applications and B2B housing and hosting services for enterprise customers. Following the transaction, Proximus will enter into a 10-year master service agreement (MSA) with the new entity to secure the provision of datacenter services, along with a separate multi-year Lease Agreement for office and telco spaces in Evere and Mechelen.

The colocation and rental fees paid by Proximus will be partly offset by OPEX savings for the operations and maintenance and reduced CAPEX investment related to the ongoing modernization of the datacenter infrastructure and activities.

Empowering customers with integrated IT services and expertise

In today's rapidly changing environment, Proximus collaborates with various specialized and local partners to help organizations manage the complexity of IT and leverage new technologies. Joining forces with a specialized operational partner like Datacenter United will enable Proximus to focus even more on delivering top-notch integrated IT services. Following the transaction, Proximus will further deliver upon its hybrid cloud strategy and continue to offer an end-to-end service, integrating public and private cloud with on-premise solutions, strengthened with AI, security and managed servicing capabilities creating added value for customers.

At the same time, the agreement ensures that Proximus customers benefit from advanced operations, managed by a partner with a strong track record of delivering secure, reliable, and sustainable solutions. Datacenter United, founded in 2010, operates 9 datacenters in Belgium and is well-positioned to leverage its extensive expertise in operating large-scale datacenter infrastructure. This will result in enhanced operational efficiency, continuous technological upgrades, and the assurance that their data remains securely hosted in Belgium.

Strategic move aligned with Proximus' bold 2025 corporate strategy

The sale of the datacenter business, for an enterprise value of EUR 128 million, is part of Proximus' broader strategy to optimize its asset portfolio and focus on core activities. The transaction is a significant step towards achieving the EUR 500 million asset divestment ambitions of Proximus by 2027.

The closing of the transaction is expected to take place by Q1 2025, upon obtaining the applicable regulatory approvals, and upon completion of the social dialogue on the transfer of the impacted employees.

"The decision to cooperate with an external partner on our datacenter housing and infrastructure business is a key milestone in our asset divestment plan. By partnering with Datacenter United, we ensure that Proximus and our customers will continue to benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure while we concentrate on delivering excellent IT integration services. I look forward to working with Datacenter United, a strong Belgian specialist in datacenter operations, and I'm confident that they will create important value for Proximus and for our customers," said Guillaume BoutinChief Executive Officer of the Proximus Group.