Principal Asset Management has acquired a data center outside Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The company this week announced it has acquired Switch Datacenters AMS2, a carrier-neutral data center in Woerden on behalf of Principal European Data Centre Fund I.

Terms of the deal were not shared. The agreement covers the real estate and infrastructure assets only, with Switch Datacenters retaining full operational control of AMS2.

Located approximately 40 km (25 miles) south-east of Amsterdam, AMS2 provides approximately 5,500 sqm (59,200 sq ft) of lettable space.

“This acquisition further strengthens our exposure to one of Europe’s most important data center markets and reflects our conviction in the long-term growth of digital infrastructure,” said Paul Lewis, managing director, European data centers at Principal Asset Management. “AMS2 benefits from a high-quality location, a long-term tenant relationship, and a clear value- enhancement opportunity through the planned refurbishment program.”

Originally developed as a banking data center and disaster recovery site, the facility was acquired by Switch Datacenters in 2014 and subsequently converted into a colocation data center. Switch Datacenters has operated AMS2 since 2014 and has signed a new 20-year lease.

Switch Datacenters is also undergoing a refurbishment and expansion of AMS2, which will increase its capacity to approximately 4.2MW of IT load. Once complete, the facility will offer liquid direct-to-chip and hybrid air- cooling technology with closed-loop (water-free) cooling technology. The site will also make its waste heat available to local heating networks.

The site also has the potential to accommodate a further 14MW of capacity over the medium term.

“Increasing the sustainability of existing data centers like AMS2 is important to Switch Datacenters, in terms of economic lifetime, energy efficiency, and social and environmental impact. This agreement gives us long-term certainty to upgrade AMS2 for high-density workloads in a more sustainable manner while we continue to operate it under our own name and with our own customers,” said Cara Mascini, CSO, Switch Datacenters.

AMS2 is the seventh asset acquired for Principal European Data Centre Fund I, which raised €297 million ($333.4m) from 14 investors and is now closed to new investors. The fund originally closed in February 2022, raising €155 million ($175.8m) and beating its initial target. It reached its final close in October 2023.

The fund is focused on manage-to-core data center assets and has acquired properties in Barcelona, Spain; the UK; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Dublin, Ireland; and Germany in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

Switch Datacenters, not to be confused with US operator Switch Inc, operates three data centers (AMS2, 3, and 4) in the Amsterdam region. The operator also has another facility (AMS5) planned in the Netherlands and recently announced a project in Warsaw, Poland.

Principal and Switch have worked together before. In 2023, the investment firm announced plans to acquire and convert a logistics facility in Amsterdam into a 42MW data center for Switch.

Principal Asset Management is the global investment solutions business for Principal Financial Group and has more than $600 billion in assets under management.

Switch’s original AMS1 facility was acquired by Equinix in 2019.

The De Groot Family Office is an investor in Switch.