Investment company 3i Infrastructure has agreed to invest approximately €300 million to acquire a majority stake in Norwegian Lefdal Mine Data Centers.
3i Infrastructure is acquiring Lefdal Mine Data Centers from a fund managed by Columbia Threadneedle, with the fund’s largest investor participating alongside 3i Infrastructure. 3i Infrastructure will manage the total investment of approximately €400 million. The transaction also includes a small number of renewable assets, comprising three wind farms in Sweden and two hydro assets in Italy, which represent less than 10% of the total transaction value. Completion is expected in summer 2026.
To provide flexibility for timing of new investments, while awaiting €1.14 billion in proceeds from the sale of TCR, 3i Infrastructure has activated the €300 million accordion on its revolving credit facility, increasing it to £1.2 billion.
Lefdal Mine uses an underground location and closed-loop seawater cooling technology for efficiency and benefits from Norway’s low-cost power supply. Its facility currently has 37MW of operational capacity serving its customer base, with an additional 43MW of contracted capacity under construction. The data center operates under inflation-linked, availability-based contracts with financial institutions and government agencies. Customer retention is supported by substantial investments in hardware and customized infrastructure.
Bernardo Sottomayor, Managing Partner and Head of European Infrastructure, 3i Investments plc, Investment Manager of the Company, commented: “We are delighted to be redeploying some of the proceeds from the TCR exit into a high-quality asset like Lefdal Mine Data Centers. This transaction offers an attractive risk/return profile, whilst further diversifying our portfolio into a new subsector. The contracted existing capacity provides strong downside protection, and we see attractive growth opportunities to create value. We look forward to working with the management team to deliver a strong outcome for 3iN.”
