CyrusOne

History

2021: KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners bought CyrusOne for $15 billion

On November 15, 2021, investment companies KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners announced the purchase of data centers by operators of CyrusOne for $15 billion. This amount includes the debts of the company being sold. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

Under the terms of the agreement, KKR and GIP will acquire all issued ordinary shares of the company CyrusOne at a price of $90.50 each.

KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners purchased CyrusOne for $15 billion

CyrusOne relates to real estate investment funds (REIT). He specializes in the design, construction and operation of more than 50 high-performance data centers around the world (by November 2021). The company provides mission-critical facilities that provide continuous IT infrastructure for about 1,000 customers, including about 200 Fortune 1000 companies.

We have created one of the world's leading data center companies with a presence in key markets in the United States and other countries, supporting our customers' critical digital infrastructure needs while creating significant value for our shareholders, "said Dave Ferdman, co-founder and interim CEO of CyrusOne in a statement. "KKR and GIP will provide significant additional resources and expertise to accelerate our global expansion and help us deliver timely and reliable solutions on a scale that our customers value," he added.

KKR and GIP executives announced that investment companies plan to "continue to expand" the presence of CyrusOne in key global digital services markets.

[Мы] We hope to use our global resources, access to long-term capital and deep experience to support the growth of the Company, "the statement of private investment companies said.]

The acquisition of the company came just a few months after CyrusOne CEO Bruce Duncan suddenly left the company. In August 2021, the CyrusOne board of directors announced that he had "separated" from Duncan as CEO along with his resignation as director of the company - just a year after he was elected head of the company in 2020.^[1]

2019: Ransomware Virus Attack

In early December 2019, one of the largest data center operators in the United States, the CyrusOne company, was attacked by an extortion virus. Customers began to have massive failures.

The publication ZDNet learned about the cyber attack, which got a note from hackers demanding a ransom from CyrusOne. It is noted that this attack was targeted. The source of the infection is unknown.

CyrusOne ransomware virus attacked

The company itself refrains from commenting. At the same time, it is known that she collaborates with law enforcement agencies and forensic experts to investigate a cyber incident. The company helps customers recover lost data from backups.

ZDNet writes that CyrusOne was attacked by a new version of the REvil ransomware virus (Sodinokibi), which was used earlier in 2019 to infect the computers of hundreds of dental clinics in the United States and Texas government agencies.

The brokerage company FIA Tech notified its customers that the failure in its cloud services was due to a problem on the side of the data center service provider. Although FIA Tech did not name the service provider, ZDNet journalists quickly found out that it was about CyrusOne. According to the FIA ​ ​ Tech notice, the attack was aimed at disrupting operations in order to obtain ransom.

The publication ZDNet says that the cyber attack did not affect the work of all data centers. CyrusOne Although the restoration of servers and client data will take a long time, the company does not intend to pay ransomware, informed informants told the publication.

By the beginning of December 2019, CyrusOne has 45 data centers in Europe, Asia, South and North America. The company's services are used by more than 1 thousand customers. In its report to the SEC, the company identified ransomware viruses as a risk factor for its business.^[2]

Notes