CVC DIF buys majority stake in German data centre operator firstcolo
What's the deal? CVCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → DIF, the infrastructure arm of private markets manager CVC, has agreed to acquire a significant majority stake in Frankfurt-based data centre operator firstcoloDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → from Cube Infrastructure ManagersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The deal, made through DIF Value Add IVDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, is expected to close by the end of September 2026, subject to customary conditions.
Who is firstcolo? Founded in 2007, the company provides colocation, cloud, connectivity, and managed services to more than 350 enterprise customers. It runs two near-fully-utilised data centres in Frankfurt, led by a founder team including CEO Jerome Evans, COO Nicolaj Kamensek, and CFO Dennis Bergfeld — all of whom stay on.
What's the endgame? firstcolo aims to become the leading German colocation platform. A central plank is FRA7, a new 24 MW facility under construction in Rosbach, near Frankfurt.
The site, power supply, permits, and fixed-price turnkey construction are already in place, and firm tenant commitments back its ramp-up. Waste heat from the facility will feed the local district heating supply.
Why now? The investment targets a structurally supply-constrained Frankfurt market, one of Europe's core FLAP-D data centre hubs. Demand is climbing for resilient digital infrastructure, cloud services, and enterprise digitalisation.
firstcolo scaled under Cube Infrastructure Managers and now plans to build further high-performance data centres in Frankfurt and other German markets with CVC as its partner.
What they're saying: firstcolo represents "a rare opportunity to invest in a high-quality, founder-led colocation platform," said Willem Jansonius, managing partner at CVC DIFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, pointing to a "resilient, cash-generative existing business" paired with "a substantially de-risked expansion project."
Stefan Moosmann, head of DACH at CVC DIF, called the company "a strong example of CVC DIF's local-for-local approach in action," saying the deal was sourced through the firm's Frankfurt team.
The signal: Investor appetite for European data centre capacity keeps rising as cloud and enterprise demand outpaces supply. Backing a founder-led operator with a de-risked expansion pipeline shows how infrastructure funds are chasing scalable platforms in constrained hubs like Frankfurt.
Read more: Majunke
Image credit: cbowns
