Blackstone seals deal for a majority stake in Winthrop Technologies

Private equity giant Blackstone has confirmed an agreement to buy a 50.7pc stake in Irish data centre developer Winthrop Technologies.

The deal is understood to value the business at around €800m.

Winthrop was founded in the 1990s by UCD-trained engineer Barry English.

The Irish firm’s management will remain in situ following the investment and it will continue to trade under its own name. The remainder of the shares not being bought by Blackstone will be held between the existing shareholders; founder Barry English; group CEO Anne Dooley; and managing director Bernard Keane.

Blackstone is best known in Ireland for buying businesses including Eir and the former Burlington Hotel at knockdown prices after the global financial crisis.

Such distressed investing is only one part of its business and a Winthrop deal would help build scale in a market where it paid $10bn three years ago for QTS, another data centre business.

Founder English remained a director and adviser as well as majority shareholder in the business ahead of the sale.

The business in recent years has shifted to specialise fully in construction of data centres across Europe, producing so-called “turn-key” projects for multinational clients, and was previously involved in projects in areas like life sciences and pharmaceutics.

Winthrop operates across nine Europe countries and last year commenced operations in Belgium. The business employs around 750 people and has been in expansion mode, announcing hundreds of new roles last year.

Winthrop’s most recently filed financial accounts show pre-tax profits of €86.17m. Revenues topped €1bn for the first time in the 12 months to April 2023.

In a statement confirming the deal, the companies said the partnership will accelerate Winthrop Technologies’ growth trajectory, allowing it to capitalise on the ongoing demand for data centres, the critical infrastructure behind the digital economy.

“The exponential growth in data driven by the AI revolution and increasing cloud adoption are two major trends powering this explosive growth,” it said.

The Winthrop sale could lift Barry English’s personal fortune to more than €500m.

Anne Dooley said: “The partnership with Blackstone marks a new era of growth for Winthrop Technologies. This is an investment in the company’s leadership, and our team at all levels, who have achieved our strong current market position and will continue to drive Winthrop Technologies into its next phase.”