- The deal has cost 1.5 billion to Digital Colony, says Valor media outlet;
- UD Tecnologia, which was renamed as Scala has the goal of becoming a leader in the provision of digital infrastructure in Latin America within five years;
- This is the fund’s second investment in digital infrastructure in Brazil, after having acquired Highline, focused on transmitting aerials.
Florida-based Digital Colony acquired UOL’s data center operation, UD Tecnologia, for about $ 1.5 billion, as Valor media outlet first reported. The division has infrastructure solutions for online operations and was created in 2019 – an outcome of UOL Diveo’s split into two separate structures. Currently, it has two data centers in the state of São Paulo.
Jon Mauck, managing director of Digital Colony, told Valor that the scenario brought by the pandemic reinforces the fund’s proposal, because the demand for digital infrastructure tends to grow, especially in Latin America, where this base is less developed. “It’s a multi-billion dollar market that we want to be a significant part of,” the executive stated. Digital Colony will rename the operation as Scala.
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This is the global investment fund’s second bid in digital infrastructure in Brazil, after having acquired Highline, focused on transmitting aerials.
According to CEO Marcos Peigo, Scala’s proposal will be to work with data center services, but also connectivity through fiber-optic networks and cell towers. Their goal is to become a leader in providing digital infrastructure in Latin America within five years, with the construction of its own structures and through the acquisition of assets from other companies. “We are looking at six properties for purchase and expansion,” Marcos told Valor.
Former UOL executive Marcos Peigo was, to the date, VP at IBM Latin America, in charge of the value creation position. With the new position, Scala’s CEO has also become a partner at Digital Colony.
