Irish data centre developer Dataplex has secured a $100 million investment led by Dubai’s Damac Group.

The partnership will focus on brownfield projects involving retrofitting existing structures and larger greenfield projects, with specific focus on hyperscale and wholesale colocation customers.

Damac Group has also invested in Dataplex, which will result in a shareholding of up to 45% of the company over time. 

Dataplex’s primary shareholders Damac Group and Chirisa Investments, the global digital infrastructure investor group founded by Irish entrepreneur Colm Piercy, have acquired a land parcel in Abbotstown, 9Km northwest of Dublin’s city centre, for a greenfield 70 MW+ data centre and industrial campus development in Dublin, Ireland.

Hussain Sajwani, Emirati billionaire businessman and founder of Damac, said: “Damac Group, through its global digital infrastructure company Edgnex, is developing data centre facilities to support the growth of digital economies across the globe.

“Our work with Dataplex enables us to serve exponential demand coming from local markets, driven by rapid digital transformation, booming digital economies, and growing internet users.”

Damac Group of companies is the private investment arm of Sajwani. The group has a diverse portfolio across various sectors including real estate, capital markets, fashion, and more.

Earlier this year, Damac Group made its foray into the data centre industry by launching Edgnex, a global digital infrastructure company headquartered in Dubai.

Eddie Kilbane, co-founder and CEO of Dataplex Group, said: “Damac Group has a unique vision for the data centre market, and we look forward to helping it to bring its disruptive model to more cities around the world. Together with DAMAC Group, we can deliver digital infrastructure in underserved markets and support the growth of local digital economies.

“Our partnership will enable our organisations to grow together, and it will be great to work with the team at DAMAC Group.”