Principal Asset Management has acquired a data center outside Amsterdam, buying the Switch Datacenters AMS2 facility in Woerden on behalf of its Principal European Data Centre Fund I.

The investment firm announced the deal this week, and Switch Datacenters will continue to run the site under its own name. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The agreement covers the real estate and infrastructure assets only, and Switch Datacenters retains full operational control of AMS2.

About the Woerden Facility

AMS2 is a carrier-neutral data center located approximately 40 km (25 miles) south-east of Amsterdam. It provides approximately 5,500 sqm (59,200 sq ft) of lettable space.

The site was originally developed as a banking data center and disaster recovery facility. Switch Datacenters acquired it in 2014 and subsequently converted it into a colocation data center. The operator has run AMS2 since 2014 and has signed a new 20-year lease as part of the transaction.

Refurbishment and Expansion Plans

Switch Datacenters is undergoing a refurbishment and expansion of AMS2, which will increase its capacity to approximately 4.2 MW of IT load. Once complete, the facility will offer liquid direct-to-chip and hybrid air-cooling technology with closed-loop, water-free cooling technology.

The site will make its waste heat available to local heating networks. The site also has the potential to accommodate a further 14MW of capacity over the medium term.

Comments From the Companies

Paul Lewis, managing director of European data centers at Principal Asset Management, said the acquisition strengthens the firm's exposure to one of Europe's most important data center markets and reflects its conviction in the long-term growth of digital infrastructure.

"AMS2 benefits from a high-quality location, a long-term tenant relationship, and a clear value-enhancement opportunity through the planned refurbishment program," Lewis said.

Cara Mascini, chief strategy officer at Switch Datacenters, pointed to the sustainability angle of the upgrade.

"Increasing the sustainability of existing data centers like AMS2 is important to Switch Datacenters in terms of economic lifetime, energy efficiency, and social and environmental impact," Mascini said. "This agreement gives us long-term certainty to upgrade AMS2 for high-density workloads in a more sustainable manner while we continue to operate it under our own name and with our own customers."

The Fund Behind the Purchase

AMS2 is the seventh asset acquired for Principal European Data Centre Fund I, which raised USD 333.4 million from 14 investors and is now closed to new investors. The fund originally closed in February 2022, raising USD 175.8 million and beating its initial target. It reached its final close in October 2023.

The fund focuses on manage-to-core data center assets. It has acquired properties in Barcelona, Spain; the UK; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Dublin, Ireland; and Germany, in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

Switch Datacenters' Footprint

Switch Datacenters, which should not be confused with US operator Switch Inc., operates three data centers in the Amsterdam region, designated AMS2, AMS3, and AMS4. The operator also has another facility, AMS5, planned in the Netherlands, and recently announced a project in Warsaw, Poland.

Switch's original AMS1 facility was acquired by Equinix in 2019. The De Groot Family Office is an investor in Switch.

A Prior Working Relationship

Principal and Switch have worked together before. In 2023, the investment firm announced plans to acquire and convert a logistics facility in Amsterdam into a 42 MW data center for Switch.

Principal Asset Management is the global investment solutions business for Principal Financial Group and has more than USD 600 billion in assets under management.

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