Aug 14, 2023 - Economy

Bain Capital buying back Chinese data center operator

Dan Primack

Illustration of a computer keyboard with a red return key resembling China's flag — Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Bain Capital agreed to buy Chinese data center operator Chindata Group for $3.16 billion, beating out a rival bid from China Merchants Capital.

Why it matters: This suggests that U.S. private equity firms aren't too worried about an expansion of President Biden's executive order on outbound investment. Or that the Treasury Department will take a liberal view of what it means to be a company operating in the AI sector.

Chindata recently issued a press release about how it's "set to ride AI-powered explosion in demand for data storage, processing."

Flashback: Bain Capital, which declined comment, is no stranger to Chindata.

It carved the business out of Wangsu Science and Technology in 2019 and then merged it with existing portfolio company Bridge Data Centres.
Bain then took the combined company public on the NASDAQ in September 2020 at a $4.9 billion market cap but still retains around a 42% stake.

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Bain Capital buying back Chinese data center operator

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