Bain Capital acquires 80% stake in AQ Compute venture

Bain Capital has completed the acquisition of an 80% majority share in AQ Compute, the data centre business of Aquila Group, aiming to establish a significant presence in the sustainable data centre market across Europe.

Bain Capital, a private multi-asset investment firm, and Aquila Group, a private investment company known for its work in sustainable assets, have announced their strategic partnership in the data centre sector. This collaboration includes a significant investment with the goal of expanding AQ Compute's sustainable data centre operations for hyperscale and AI clients throughout Europe.

Founded by Aquila Group in 2020, AQ Compute focuses on delivering modular and AI-ready data centre and colocation services, predominantly powered by renewable energy sources. The company opened its inaugural sustainable data centre near Oslo in 2024 and has ongoing projects in cities such as Barcelona and Milan. Bain Capital's involvement is expected to support AQ Compute's growth strategies through both financial investment and its substantial expertise in the data centre industry.

Ali Haroon, a Partner at Bain Capital, stated, "The European data centre sector presents an attractive market opportunity, driven by robust cloud demand, a need for high-performance computing and AI deployments, and data sovereignty across the region. Through this partnership with Aquila Group, we bring a differentiated, renewable energy angle to tackle the ever-growing power challenges in this critical part of Europe's infrastructure."

Rafael Coste Campos, a Managing Director at Bain Capital, expressed the firm's intent, saying, "We are thrilled to bring our deep European real estate sector expertise and our multi-layered experience growing companies with complex infrastructure services, tenant relationships and talent attraction to AQ Compute. Leveraging our global data centre expertise, we are well-positioned to meet the needs of this ever growing and critically important sector and to build a market leading data centre operation in Europe."

Michael Huber, a Principal at Bain Capital, highlighted the firm's investments and its impact, "Having invested more than $1 billion in real estate over the past three years, Bain Capital's first European investment in data centres means we now have a truly global platform. This investment will benefit from and complement our experience investing in and building one of the largest data centres in Asia – Chindata and backing DC BLOX in the US."

Roman Rosslenbroich, Co-founder and CEO of Aquila Group, emphasised the partnership's significance: "Through our partnership with Bain Capital, we are well positioned to expand AQ Compute's capabilities and solidify its role as a key player in Europe's digital infrastructure. The rapid growth in data demands presents both a challenge and an opportunity – while more data centres are essential, they must be sustainable. Aquila will invest several hundred-million euros alongside Bain Capital's larger commitment, with Aquila Capital providing co-investments. With our continued 20% stake, we will ensure AQ Compute's growth aligns with our long-term vision for sustainable infrastructure, leveraging synergies with Aquila Clean Energy, a major developer and independent power producer in the clean energy space."

Markus Holzer, Chairman of AQ Compute, commented on the strategic direction of the company: "At AQ Compute, we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing demand for data processing by combining innovative, AI-ready infrastructure with a commitment to sustainability. This partnership with Bain Capital not only accelerates our development pipeline but also allows us to set new standards in sustainable data centre operations across Europe."