Nordic firm Borealis Data Center (BDC) has secured financing to fund its expansion goals.

The company this week announced $148 million in funding from infrastructure investment firm Infranity and Iceland’s Arion Bank.

The funds will support Borealis’ expansion plans in the Nordics, though further details weren't shared.

Pareto Securities acted as the financial advisor; Infranity has provided $135m, while Arion Bank has contributed $13m.

“Our strategy for growth is rooted in delivering exceptional value to our customers while attracting those with increasingly sophisticated requirements,” said Björn Brynjúlfsson, CEO and co-founder of Borealis Data Center.

“As the industry evolves rapidly, we are committed to staying ahead of future demands and enabling our facilities to meet the needs of the most advanced workloads in a sustainable manner. Beyond a vote of confidence, the financing from Infranity and Arion enables us to further accelerate this strategy and advance our capabilities.”

Originally founded in 2014, Icelandic operator Borealis operates three sites in Iceland; one in Reykjavík, one in Blönduós, and one in Fitjar in Reykjanesbær.

The operator also acquired a facility in Kajaani, Finland, last year. The site, Borealis' first international expansion, was previously owned and operated by Finnish MSP Herman IT.

Borealis is 92.2 percent owned by Vauban Infrastructure Partners, a European infrastructure asset manager, through its Fund Core Infrastructure Fund III SCS SICAV-SIF. Vauban acquired a majority stake in Borealis Data Center in July 2021 – the data center firm was previously acquired by Etix Everywhere in 2018.

“This financing is a testimony to the fruitful partnership between Vauban and Borealis and to the effective growth strategy that the company has adopted. We are delighted to have supported and to continue contributing to this development of Borealis,” said Sam Léa Zhang, investment director at Vauban and Borealis Data Center board chair.

Infranity is a European asset management company specializing in sustainable infrastructure investments and is part of the Generali Investments ecosystem. It is also an investor in Vantage and Etix Everywhere, and recently contributed to a Data4 debt financing.

“This transaction not only underscores our commitment to supporting and financing essential digital infrastructure, but also reflects our thesis around long-term, resilient investments in companies and assets that drive both technological advancement and sustainable stewardship” said Georgios Tzimas, investment director, Infranity.

Borealis’ Fitjar facility was opened in 2018 and reportedly offers 8MW. The Blönduós campus also opened in 2019 and originally offered 37MW. Borealis announced the launch of a new HPC building at the Blönduós site in 2022, increasing capacity at the site by 12MW. The company acquired a data center outside Reykjavík in 2022.

“As Borealis Data Center´s longstanding corporate banking partner, we are delighted to support the company in its growth,” said Hákon Hrafn Gröndal, MD of corporate and investment banking at Arion. “We see tremendous opportunities in the data center market, both in Iceland and internationally. Borealis is now taking significant steps to expand and develop its business model, and we are proud to be part of this journey.”

IBM is a Borealis customer, using one of its Icelandic sites for an IBM cloud region.