Illovo, Johannesburg: 2 June 2011 - Teraco Data Environments, South Africa’s only provider of vendor neutral colocation data centres, announces the completion of a R158 million ‘Series C’ financing.

The financing includes a combination of both equity and debt, with IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, becoming an equity shareholder in Teraco and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) providing R80 million of senior debt.

The financing will be used to further support Teraco’s growth. The Johannesburg colocation data centre will be expanded to three times its current size and two new colocation facilities will be opened in Durban and Cape Town.

All of the company’s current investors also participated in the financing, including Treacle Private Equity, Pentangle Group and Marlow Capital. Marlow Capital acted as financial advisor on the financing.

Tim Parsonson, Group Chief Executive of Teraco, said: "We are very excited about bringing into Teraco two quality finance providers in IFC and the DBSA, who will help us with our next phase of exciting growth.”

Supporting quotes:

- Saleem Karimjee, IFC Senior Manager, said: “Data centers are becoming a critical part of the technological infrastructure needed for growing companies to innovate and compete globally. IFC is enthusiastic about Teraco’s pioneering plans in the sector, especially across the African region. Our investment in Teraco continues our commitment to helping African businesses harness new technology and approaches to managing information.”
- Lucy Chege, DBSA Divisional Executive, said: “We are pleased to be participating in this groundbreaking transaction because Teraco signifies a positive change towards addressing the effective use of resources and improving efficiencies in the telecommunications sector. This is in line with the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s objective to support businesses within the telecommunications sector that will have a positive development impact and promote streamlined functioning of the sector.”