United Arab Emirates-based telecoms group e& plans to sell its 40 percent stake in data center operator Khazna.
The $2.2 billion deal will see co-owner Group 42 take over the stake. Silver Lake and MGX will become minority investors in the business. G42 chairman Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, son of the founder of the UAE, is also chairman of MGX.
Originally owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, Khazna in 2022 was acquired by G42 and e&, who merged their respective data center businesses into the company, creating the UAE's largest data center operator.
At the time, Khazna had some twelve data centers. The company now says it has 30 operational facilities, and more under construction.
e& will remain a strategic partner "and a major tenant" of Khazna. The telco expects to bring in a capital gain of $1.4 billion before federal royalty and corporate tax, which it will use to reduce its debt.
