CBRE Group announced a definitive agreement to acquire Onnec Group Limited, a leading provider of data centre infrastructure services for the world's largest technology companies in Europe and Asia Pacific. The acquisition will significantly enhance CBRE's ability to support its clients' data centre needs on a global basis.
The initial purchase price is £460 million (approximately $610 million) in cash. In addition, the parties have agreed to a multi-year earnout of up to £300 million (approximately $400 million), subject to Onnec meeting certain growth thresholds. Onnec is expected to generate approximately £370 million ($498 million) in revenue and more than £50 million ($67 million) of core EBITDA in 2027 and be immediately accretive to CBRE's core earnings per share.
Onnec will operate as part of CBRE's Critical Infrastructure Services line of business. CBRE expects this business line to generate nearly $4.5 billion of total revenue in 2027, including contributions from Onnec. The rest of CBRE's services businesses, most notably Project Management and Advisory Services, are expected to generate almost $2.5 billion of infrastructure services revenue in 2027, resulting in total estimated 2027 infrastructure services revenue of nearly $7.0 billion. This does not include revenue from periodic data centre land sales in the development business.
Founded in 1986 and based in London, Onnec specialises in the design, deployment and maintenance of network, fibre and data centre infrastructure. The company's approximately 800 employees serve hyperscalers across key markets in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia Pacific. Onnec's geographic presence aligns well with the data centre infrastructure services that CBRE delivers in the United States.
"CBRE is pursuing an explicit strategy to build a global infrastructure services business to complement our real estate services business. We've long believed Onnec is an excellent fit in this strategy," said Vikram Kohli, CBRE's Chief Operating Officer. "The acquisition is also consistent with our ongoing effort to build resilient businesses that benefit from secular tailwinds."
Barry Horgan, Chairman of Onnec, said, "From day one, our focus has been on delivering exceptional connectivity solutions for our customers. As part of CBRE, we gain the platform and expertise to broaden our capabilities, creating even greater value for our clients, and provide new opportunities for our employees, while staying true to the customer-focused approach that has driven our success."
The Onnec transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed around the end of the year.
J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC is acting as financial advisor and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal advisor to CBRE. Goldman Sachs International is acting as financial advisor and Freshfields LLP as legal advisor to Onnec.
