(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Asia-wide undersea cable network operator Pacnet (www.pacnet.com) announced on Tuesday it is making a $300 million investment to build a data center network in Asia, as it diversifies in the run-up to a planned IPO.
Over the next three years, the company will build 10 smaller data centers and three massive “gravity centers”, says Pacnet CEO Bill Barney.
The larger centers will cost $250 million or more each and will be powered by enough energy to supply a city with the population of about 1 million.
Pacnet will power with other major network users, which Barney declined to name. He says that the revenue earned from the data centers will increase from the current 6 percent to 40 percent of the company’s total over the next five years.
The company revealed in October that it had named a financial adviser for a potential IPO, and while the company is still planning to follow through on its public offering, Barney says it is holding out for the right opportunity.
According to past reports, Pacnet’s potential offering could be in the $400 million to $600 million range.
The company currently earns about $500 million in annual revenue, with an annual growth rate of about 20 percent.
The company is owned by a group of private equity firms, led by Ashmore Investment and Spinnaker Capital.
