Lille, September 1, 2022 – Etix Everywhere is continuing its expansion in France with the announcement of its intention to acquire CIV France, one of the leading regional colocation providers, operating two data centers in Northern France. Following the opening of a new data center in Nantes at the end of 2021, ETIX is strengthening its position in the French market with a network of seven data centers, establishing itself as a leader in the North and West of the country. Over the next three years, the company’s ambition is to double its data center footprint in France and become the national leader in edge data centers. The acquisition of CIV France remains subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals in France, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Since its creation in 1974, CIV France has built a solid reputation and a loyal customer base in the design, construction, and operation of computer rooms and colocation data centers. Opened in 2010, the first data center, ADC1 (1.2 MW – 370 racks), located in Lille (France), is today the main connectivity hub in northern France. In 2016, a second data center, ADC2 (1.5 MW – 486 racks), was built 50 km away to support local and national businesses by offering a dual redundant site solution. To continue meeting the growing needs of its clients, a third data center was under study, but CIV France chose instead to join the ETIX network and thus benefit from the existing capacities at ETIX Lille #1. This decision is in line with the company’s approach since 2016 to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations and strengthen the regional data center network. This collaboration will also allow Jérémy and Sébastien Cousin, co-founders of CIV France, to apply their sustainable methodology and technical solutions to the entire ETIX data center portfolio.
Louis Blanchot, CEO of Etix Everywhere:
“This transaction represents another major step in our strategy to become the leader in regional edge data centers in France and Europe. The two data centers developed by CIV France are state-of-the-art infrastructures and benefit from excellent connectivity with the best Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in Europe.”
“We were looking for an opportunity to develop environmentally friendly initiatives in the data center sector. As the African proverb says: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,’ we made the decision and are delighted to have joined the ETIX project, a major French player with strong ambitions both in France and internationally. In this way, we ensure the continuity of a company and the expertise acquired over 50 years with CIV 5.0.”
Thomas Hombert, Managing Director of Etix Everywhere France, added:
“Beyond adding new colocation capacity for our clients, we will above all develop a strong partnership with CIV5.0 (co-founded by Jérémy and Sébastien Cousin) to implement ‘green’ solutions across our data center network. These innovative solutions, already successfully applied in their ‘green data centers,’ will accelerate our commitments as a member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact. Building efficient facilities with low PUE is no longer enough. In times of climate emergency, it is now essential to ask ourselves how we can power our data centers with renewable energy at predictable costs, and how we can wisely reuse the excess heat generated by servers.”
