Flexential Lines Up $250 Million to Fund New Data Centers, Services

Colocation specialist Flexential has lined up $250 million to help the company continue to expand its data center footprint. The company said earlier this month that its parent, Flexential Intermediate Corporation, issued $250 million of Senior Secured Notes due 2024.

Flexential will use the proceeds from the offering to repay an existing credit facility, with the balance being used to support continued expansion and invest in its hybrid IT solutions offering.

“We are pleased that the financing provides Flexential with long-term capital to support our continued expansion,” said Chris Downie, Chief Executive Officer, Flexential. “We continue to see robust demand for our connectivity-rich platform and look forward to expanding our offerings to meet market demand.”

Flexential was formed through the 2017 merger of Peak 10 and ViaWest to create a national network, and is backed by private equity firm GI Partners, an experienced investor in the data center industry. Peak 10 targeted second-tier markets in the Southeast, while ViaWest built a similar network in the Western U.S. The merger of the two firms created a national footprint of 40 data centers in 21 cities, with about 170 megawatts of commissioned power. The company has 4,200 customers.

The company rebranded as Flexential in early 2018. The name is intended to suggest several qualities embodied by the combined company, including flexible, essential and exceptional. Its slogan is “The power of people in a technical world.”

Flexential has announced new capacity coming online in Charlotte, Nashville and Portland, Oregon.

The company’s decision to invest in larger data centers supports a strategic shift into the market for wholesale data center space, in which a tenant leases a finished suite of “turn-key” raised-floor space. Those tend to be larger deals than seen in retail colocation, Flexential’s historic focus, in which tenants buy smaller amounts of space by the cabinet or cage.