The Planet is set to merge with Softlayer.

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Posted on August 05, 2010

SoftLayer Technologies®, the innovative on-demand data center services provider, today announced a transaction in which its management team and GI Partners, a private trans-Atlantic investment firm, have acquired all of the equity in SoftLayer.

Since its founding, SoftLayer has revolutionized hosting through its unswerving commitment to innovation and automation. At a pivotal time in the industry, as increased connectivity, virtualization advances, and cloud service innovations dramatically reshape the landscape, SoftLayer is poised to continue playing a significant role in the industry’s transformation.

“I’m extremely proud of how much SoftLayer has grown and accomplished in its history. GI Partners’ investment and partnership enables us to take our unparalleled approach to the next stage,” said Lance Crosby, Chief Executive Officer of SoftLayer. “It’s gratifying that a firm with GI Partners’ insight and success sees such value in SoftLayer’s past growth and future opportunities.”

“SoftLayer has taken a visionary model and created a company for the future of hosting,” said Rick Magnuson, Executive Managing Director of GI Partners. “We are excited to bring additional resources and experience to help SoftLayer leverage its strategic position in the expanding global data center services market.”

DH Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to SoftLayer in connection with the transaction.

About GI Partners
GI Partners, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is a private equity firm established in 2001, managing approximately $4 billion of capital. The firm focuses on investments in asset-intensive businesses or portfolios of assets in a number of key sectors, including specialty healthcare, leisure, real estate, financial services, and technology. The firm has made several investments in the data center industry, most notably Digital Realty Trust in 2002, The Planet in 2006, The Telx Group in 2006, and ViaWest in 2010. For more information about GI Partners, please visit http://www.gipartners.com. Reach GI Partners in Menlo Park, California at +1 650-233-3600 and London, U.K. at +44 20 7034 1120.

About SoftLayer Technologies
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, SoftLayer is a best-in-class, infrastructure-as-a-service provider with data centers in Dallas, Seattle, and Washington, DC, and network Points of Presence across the US. SoftLayer integrates and automates all IT elements, allowing customers to create cloud, dedicated, or seamless hybrid computing environments managed through a single interface. Enterprises of any size can have complete control, security, scalability, and ease-of-management in an on-demand IT solution. For more information, please visit http://www.softlayer.com or call 866.398.7638.

Categories: Industry News