Data center firm Global Switch is still on the market to find a buyer, with Warburg Pincus the latest firm linked as a potential suitor.

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports private equity firm Warburg Pincus has joined SC Capital Partners in pursuing a potential acquisition of the data center operator.

The SC Capital-Warburg Pincus consortium has reportedly been in talks with other potential investors to join the bid, which could value the company at $6-7 billion.

News that SC Capital was interested in Global Switch surfaced earlier this year. The company is working with Goldman Sachs Group and is said to have lined up about $3bn in a loan facility.

Global Switch is working with Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG on the potential sale.

Ownership of Global Switch has been an ongoing hot topic for several years. Chinese steel giant Jiangsu Shagang Group took control of the company in 2016, but has been seeking a buyer for the company since early 2021.

After years of back-and-forth with around a dozen suitors, HMC Capital acquired the Australian operations of Global Switch last year for AU$2.12bn (US$1.41bn), taking over two facilities in Sydney. Global Switch retained around a dozen data centers across Europe and Asia, with more in development.

The UK-based company has been looking to sell a stake in its UK operations since last year to help fuel its growth plans.

None of the above companies provided a comment to Bloomberg.

Founded in 2004, Singapore-based SC Capital is an Asia Pacific real estate investment manager with around $6bn in total investments, according to its website. Its portfolio includes industrial, retail, residential, offices, and retail properties globally. In 2022, it launched Zeus Data Centers alongside the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which has sites in development in South Korea and Japan.

November 2024 saw APAC asset manager CapitaLand Investment acquire an initial 40 percent stake in SC Capital for S$280m (US$207.67m), with the option to buy the remaining 60 percent in phases over the next five years. CapitaLand owns multiple data centers across Asia and Europe.

Warburg Pincus has a number of existing investments in data centers in Asia. The company has previously formed a joint venture with 21Vianet (now Vnet) in China; it also formed Princeton Digital Group (PDG), which is developing projects in China, Japan, and India, and acquired IO Singapore. The company has also invested in APAC firm Evolution Data Centres, which is targeting developments in the Philippines and Thailand.

EQT, KKR, PAG, Gaw Capital Partners, Stonepeak, Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, DigitalBridge Group, Digital Realty, Equinix, Australian pension fund AustralianSuper, and NextDC & Macquarie Capital have all been previously listed as potentially interested in acquiring at least part of Global Switch in recent years.