- Iliad Group and InfraVia Capital Partners have entered into exclusive discussions to develop OpCore into a major European hyperscale data centre platform.
- InfraVia will acquire a 50% equity stake in OpCore, valuing the company at €860 million.
What happened: New deal sets sights on Europe’s growing demand for data capacity
French telecom firm Iliad Group and private equity investor InfraVia Capital Partners have finalised a major partnership to develop OpCore into a leading European data centre platform. InfraVia will acquire a 50% stake in OpCore, putting the company’s value at €860 million. OpCore runs data centres in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Poland. It has supported Iliad, hyperscalers, and large businesses for over 20 years. Now, it plans to expand, aiming to meet surging demand for cloud and AI infrastructure. To achieve this, both partners will invest more than €2.5 billion over the next ten years.
Initial projects include building a 100MW facility near Paris. More centres will follow across France, Poland, and Italy. A dedicated finance structure will fund most of this investment through bank debt. Iliad’s cloud unit Scaleway will remain a key client, helping shape OpCore’s role in Europe’s AI and cloud space. The deal is expected to close by mid-2025, following employee consultations and regulatory review.
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Why it is important
The collaboration between Iliad Group and InfraVia Capital Partners to develop OpCore into a major European hyperscale data centre platform reflects the growing demand for data centre capacity driven by cloud computing and AI applications. The European hyperscale data centre market is expanding at an annual growth rate of over 20%, indicating substantial opportunities for infrastructure development.
OpCore’s existing data centres in France and Poland, along with its focus on pioneering new technologies for efficiency and sustainability, position it well to meet the increasing capacity demands from hyperscalers and AI customers. The planned investment of over €2.5 billion aims to scale OpCore’s capacity to more than 130 megawatts initially, with further expansion to multiple hundreds of megawatts across Europe.
This partnership also underscores the strategic importance of European-based data centres for customers concerned about data sovereignty and jurisdictional exposure. By focusing on expansion in countries where Iliad operates as a telecoms carrier—namely France, Poland, and Italy—the partnership aligns with regional growth strategies. The transaction is subject to prior consultation with relevant employee representative bodies and is expected to close in the first half of 2025, pending customary conditions and regulatory clearances.
