DataCenter Fryslân was sold to data center investor Penta Infra at the end of March 2020. DataCenter Fryslân (DCF) was set up in 2006 as a sister organization of DataDiensten Fryslân, a leading network integrator for regional clients. Hogenhouck m&a supervised the sale for DCF's shareholders.
Important hub in Friesland
The Leeuwarden-based company is the only carrier-neutral data center in Friesland. It forms an important hub to provide services to IT providers, local governments, healthcare and educational institutions in the region. Following the sale of the data center company, entrepreneur Else Maria van der Meulen is focusing entirely on the further development of DataDiensten Fryslân into the specialist in security and network integration.
Grown into mature organizations
Else Maria van der Meulen, director and major shareholder of DCF, explains the reason for sale: "From DataDiensten Fryslân we are close to our customers. Both the data center and the network company have now grown into mature organizations. But the developments in data centers, networks and security are going faster and faster. You see that a time has now come to give each component the focus it needs. For me, this meant that I would like to develop further in the field of security and that fits well within DataDiensten Fryslân's portfolio as a network integrator. Running the data center will now be taken over by Penta Infra, but the collaboration is and will remain very close. The customer contact will therefore certainly continue."
International scope data center
Penta Infra is a provider of data center and connectivity services with eight data centers in the Netherlands and Germany. It is an organization with an international scope, but always with great attention to its regional position. Attracting new employees from Friesland is a good example of this.
Closing in coronacrisis
The completion of the transaction took place during the first weeks of the "lockdown" during the corona crisis in the Netherlands. Else Maria comments on how she experienced this. "It took quite a few headaches in the final weeks to get everything legally in order. Then finally it was settled and the transaction was completed digitally. I did find it unfortunate that it was all digital. You can't really end it in person with the people you went through this process with. You're kind of running a race together and when you cross the finish line you can't celebrate with each other. That feels a bit abstract then, but there will probably be another moment to look back on it together."
