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Iron Mountain and Ooredoo Group form strategic partnership to boost data center infrastructure across MENA

Iron Mountain and Ooredoo Group form strategic partnership to boost data center infrastructure across MEN
Published Date
Feb 17 2025
A&O Shearman has advised Iron Mountain on its landmark strategic partnership with Ooredoo Group. This collaboration will accelerate the growth of data center infrastructure across the MENA region, with Iron Mountain taking a minority equity stake in Ooredoo's MENA Digital Hub.

The partnership between Ooredoo and Iron Mountain will expand the MENA Digital Hub's hyperscale and AI data center infrastructure. By combining Ooredoo's local development and operational expertise with Iron Mountain's global operating experience, the collaboration will enhance infrastructure, support cloud and AI deployments, and meet the rising demand for digital services in the region.

Key highlights of the partnership:

  • Operational support and infrastructure enhancement: Iron Mountain will provide specialized advice in the design, construction, and daily operations of data centers, ensuring compliance with evolving global demands.
  • Expansion plans: The initial focus will be on expanding MENA Digital Hub's data center capacity across key markets in the MENA region.
  • Investment in growth: Ooredoo plans to invest USD1 billion in the medium term to expand its capacity to over 120 megawatts, reinforcing its leadership in the MENA data center market.

The investment by Iron Mountain demonstrates the growing attractiveness of the MENA region for digital infrastructure to meet demand being driven by cloud services and AI. The platform will be well positioned to capitalize on its existing infrastructure to capture an increasing share of the fast-expanding demand, while ensuring continuous compliance with local and international regulations.

“We are delighted to have supported Iron Mountain on this important transaction. This not only demonstrates our ability to bring together a strong cross-border team to advise our client but also A&O Shearman’s expertise in the technology sector and our in-depth understanding and experience in the MENA region.”

Image of Ben Ward

Ben Ward

Partner

The A&O Shearman team was led by partner Ben Ward (UAE) with support from senior associates Rushal Noor and Ruqaiya Ali and associate Anusha Aggarwal. Associates Alina Bushnaq and Sammy Lockhart and trainee Omar Gargash provided additional support (UAE).

Partner Filip Van Elsen, senior associate Sarah De Wulf, associate Amélia Chokoualé Datou and trainee Anna De Wandeler (Belgium) advised Iron Mountain on the intellectual property aspects of the transaction documents and the services arrangements with MENA Digital Hub.

Partner Lydia Challen (London) assisted in relation to tax matters.

Senior associates Anthonie Nederlof and Lisanne Bosman and associate Chaima Azouagh (Amsterdam) assisted in relation to Dutch law matters.

Senior associate Faye Priestley and senior paralegal Nazim Boughida (Dubai) assisted on real estate matters during due diligence.

Partner Mike Walsh (Washington DC) and his team advised on certain export control and compliance matters.

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