CBRE Group, Inc. announced the acquisition of Direct Line Global, a premier provider of mission-critical data center infrastructure for the world’s leading technology companies, from Guardian Capital, a private equity firm. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to CBRE’s core earnings-per-share.
Founded in 1997, Direct Line Global provides design, installation, maintenance and management solutions for data center owners and operators, primarily in the U.S. It is focused on serving the world’s largest global technology companies across the hyperscale market, which is growing rapidly, co-location and enterprise segments.
The global market for data center support services is estimated to be approximately $30 billion and is expected to grow at 16% per year through 2028.
“This acquisition fits squarely with our strategy of enhancing our capabilities in asset classes that benefit from secular tailwinds – in this case, the increasing digitization of the global economy,” said Vikram Kohli, chief operating officer of CBRE. “Direct Line Global perfectly complements our existing data center management capabilities and provides us with best-in-class technical capabilities that differentiate our service offering.”
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Direct Line Global provides technical services, such as server support infrastructure, while CBRE currently focuses on facilities management services. Combining the two gives CBRE the ability to deliver integrated data center solutions that no other service provider can match.
“We see huge benefits from operating as part of CBRE,” said Bill Nelligan, chief executive officer of Direct Line Global. “Our business has strong momentum, driven by the economy’s voracious appetite for data and artificial intelligence’s explosive growth. We are particularly energized about the opportunities that CBRE’s preeminent global platform will afford us for overseas growth.”
Direct Line Global has grown significantly since Mr. Nelligan became CEO in 2021. The company, based in Fremont, CA, has more than 1,000 employees including significant operations in northern Virginia with additional operations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea.
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Direct Line Global will operate as part of CBRE’s Data Centers Solutions business within the Global Workplace Solutions business segment.
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