CPP Investments and Equinix Complete $4 Billion Acquisition of atNorth Nordic Data Center Platform

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — Sept. 2, 2026 — CPP Investments and Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) have completed the acquisition of atNorth, a Nordic data center platform, in a transaction valued at $4 billion. The deal gives CPP Investments a controlling stake in a platform operating eight data centers across all five Nordic countries and carrying an active development pipeline of approximately 800 megawatts expected to come online over the next five years.

Partners Group, which previously held a stake in atNorth on behalf of its clients, elected to reinvest rather than exit, acquiring a 10% position in the combined entity. The revised ownership structure places CPP Investments at approximately 51%, committing $1.3 billion in equity; Equinix at approximately 34%, committing $895 million; and Partners Group at approximately 10%, committing $260 million. atNorth's internal stakeholders rolled over a substantial portion of their equity, holding the remainder.

Capital Stack and Financing

The transaction is supported by a $4.1 billion (€3.6 billion) debt financing package underwritten by a group of European and Canadian lenders. The facility is structured to fund both the acquisition and the capital required to expand atNorth's development pipeline. Total equity committed across all parties reached approximately $2.455 billion.

The platform currently provides approximately 150 megawatts of sellable capacity targeting enterprise, AI, and hyperscale workloads.

"The completion of this investment gives CPP Investments a controlling stake in one of the Nordics' leading hyperscale data center platforms, and marks an important milestone in our partnership with Equinix," said Maximilian Biagosch, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Real Assets, CPP Investments. "With its strong portfolio of development projects, access to renewable power and differentiated capabilities for AI and high-performance computing workloads, atNorth is well positioned to support the region's next phase of growth."

atNorth Portfolio: Operating Assets and Development Pipeline

atNorth is headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland, and operates eight data centers across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The platform has secured approximately 1 gigawatt of power across its portfolio.

Four mega-sites are currently under development. In Kouvola, Finland, atNorth is constructing its ninth site. In Ølgod, Denmark, plans call for up to 250 megawatts of capacity, with the site integrated into Nordic power-purchase-agreement markets. In Sollefteå, Sweden, a 30-hectare plot at Hamre Industripark in Långsele is slated for a facility with an initial capacity of 200 megawatts. A fourth mega-site is under development in Haugaland, Norway — a site added to the pipeline since the deal was initially announced. An additional metro-scale site is under development in Stockholm, Sweden.

Earlier campus-level data from atNorth's Iceland assets illustrate the industrial scale of the platform's facilities. The Mjölnir campus in Iceland was designed for more than 80 megawatts of power and approximately 148,000 square feet of gross space. The Thor campus offered 3.2 megawatts across roughly 29,100 square feet, while the Sif campus was planned for 11.2 megawatts and approximately 64,600 square feet.

"Since the signing announcement earlier this year, atNorth has continued to build strong momentum, securing new hyperscale contracts and expanding our development pipeline, including a new site in Norway," said Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth. "We enter this next phase from a position of strength, with a clear strategy to continue to operate independently under the atNorth brand, while working closely with CPP Investments and Equinix."

Strategic Rationale: AI Infrastructure and Nordic Energy Advantages

The buyers framed the acquisition around accelerating demand for AI, cloud, and high-performance computing infrastructure. The Nordic region's access to renewable energy, cooler ambient temperatures, and established power infrastructure have made it an increasingly competitive location for data-intensive workloads that require sustainable energy profiles.

The Nordic data center market was valued at approximately $7.16 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $14.93 billion by 2030, reflecting a revenue compound annual growth rate of roughly 12.8%. In capacity terms, the region's installed megawatts are projected to grow from 866 megawatts in 2024 to 4,435 megawatts by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of approximately 26%.

"The acquisition will strengthen our ability to support customers expanding digital and AI deployments, while increasing capacity in a region widely recognised for its advanced technology ecosystem and sustainable energy profile," said Regina Dahlström, Managing Director, Equinix Nordics. "As AI adoption accelerates, organisations need infrastructure that brings together data, clouds, networks and inference services."

atNorth's data centers operate on renewable energy and incorporate heat reuse solutions and advanced cooling technologies. The company will continue to operate independently under the atNorth brand following the close.

Outlook

With the transaction closed, atNorth's focus shifts to executing its development pipeline across the five Nordic countries. The company said it intends to deepen relationships with global enterprise and hyperscale customers while scaling capacity at pace. CPP Investments, which manages the Canada Pension Plan Fund on behalf of more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries, reported a fund total of C$863.6 billion as of June 30, 2026. The atNorth acquisition adds to the fund's existing portfolio of digital infrastructure investments globally.

Equinix brings its global customer relationships and digital infrastructure expertise to the partnership, with the stated goal of creating interconnected hubs across the Nordic region where data, cloud services, networks, and AI inference workloads can co-locate and move efficiently across ecosystems.

Sources

atNorth — CPP Investments and Equinix complete atNorth acquisition to support growth of leading Nordic data center platform (Sept. 2, 2026)