Partners Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in UK-based AVK Power Solutions, committing more than $1bn to a transaction aimed at accelerating the company’s international expansion.
The Swiss private markets investor is making the investment alongside debt financing, with AVK’s management team retaining a minority interest. The deal gives Partners Group exposure to the growing market for power infrastructure supporting data centres and other critical digital infrastructure.
AVK supplies backup generators, microgrids and other power systems used by data centre operators. Its business is benefiting from the rapid expansion of computing infrastructure required to support artificial intelligence applications.
Partners Group managing director Nicholas Pepper said the combination of equity and debt financing would provide AVK with the capital needed to expand internationally.
The investment reflects growing private equity interest in the infrastructure required to support the AI-driven data centre buildout, with reliable electricity supply emerging as a key constraint on new developments.
While dedicated power solutions for data centres are already an established market in the US, Partners Group sees significant scope for expansion in Europe, where the sector remains less developed.
Pepper said power availability represents an increasingly important bottleneck for data centre development, making businesses positioned around electricity generation and supply an attractive way to gain exposure to the wider digital infrastructure theme.
AVK’s offering extends beyond data centres, but Partners Group views the investment as a long-term play on growth across the broader digital economy.
The transaction follows a wave of investment by private capital firms into data centre and digital infrastructure assets as demand for AI computing capacity accelerates.
The AVK deal comes shortly after Partners Group completed fundraising for a new $15bn infrastructure vehicle. The fund is already more than 40% committed and has made several investments linked to the data centre power ecosystem.
These include US-based Life Cycle Power and Singapore-headquartered data centre platform Digital Halo.
