2012 Data Center Real Estate Acquisitions Report - Year End Review

In 2012, the industry witnessed a slew of data center real estate acquisitions made by institutions, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private companies seeking to either increase their holdings or enter the marketplace. Increasing market activity and investments have shown that data center real estate has quickly become its own significant asset class with numerous noteworthy transactions crossing the wire in 2012.

The following pages highlight some of the data center real estate transactions which occurred in 2012 including single tenant properties, multi-tenant assets and campus/data center park acquisitions.

The pace is quickening for acquisitions, and 2013 is off to a fast start, setting the pace for a very high volume year. Investment firms have made no secret of their intentions to acquire quality data center assets to bolster their portfolios and stake their claim in the data center marketplace. The long term nature of leases, substantial tenant investment, and tenant credit profiles often prove to be reliable investments for many real estate investment groups. Long term sale-leaseback opportunities in 2013 will certainly have a voice as corporations consider utilizing unleashed capital to upgrade their aging data center infrastructure to meet current design standards and operational efficiencies.

With the addition of new players with substantial investment capital, the ensuing competition for high quality, well located data centers will put downward pressure on cap rates as 2013 progresses. Speculative building acquisitions and ground-up development activity in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets will continue to increase in 2013 as a result of the limited supply of existing available space and investment opportunities.

The purchase prices of the data centers on the following pages range considerably as do the price per sq ft of each. The variations are related, but not limited, to variables such as terms of lease, tenant credit, building shell rent vs. turnkey rents, and location. This outline is only meant to be a sampling of acquisitions based upon information obtained by public record and publications and is not meant to be a full representation of details involved in any specific transaction. The information herein used for any purposes other than a general example of the overall marketplace shall need to be verified.