Baker McKenzie Advises Gulf Data Hub on Strategic Partnership with KKR to Expand One of the Largest Independent Data Center Platforms in the Middle East

Leading global law firm Baker McKenzie has advised Gulf Data Hub ("GDH"), a leading independent carrier and vendor neutral data center platforms in the Middle East, on the sale of a sizeable stake to global investment firm KKR. The transaction marks a defining moment in the growth journey of GDH and the first data center investment for KKR in the Middle East.
Gulf Data Hub, established in 2012 and headquartered in Dubai, owns a portfolio of seven purpose-built and state-of-the-art data centers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and additional planned projects in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. GDH has a proven track record for delivering the infrastructure required to meet hyperscale demand across the region to support increasing data consumption in a rapidly growing sector driven by advancements in artificial intelligence.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Upon completion, KKR and GDH have committed to support over USD 5 billion of total investment to grow GDH's market leading position and support its global expansion strategy.

Commenting on the landmark deal, lead Corporate M&A Partner Abeer Jarrar at Baker McKenzie UAE, stated: "We are delighted to have supported the GDH team on this strategic transaction. The data center industry has seen accelerated growth, particularly after the global COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent surge in AI and cloud computing demands. The complex nature and scale of this transaction underscores the region's strategic importance in the global digital economy and further demonstrates the expertise across our team. Congratulations to all parties involved."

J.P. Morgan acted as sell-side advisors.

The global Baker McKenzie multi-disciplinary team is led by UAE-based corporate M&A partner Abeer Jarrar (Dubai) alongside corporate finance and TMT partners George Marshall (London), David Hart (London) and Anne Petterd (Sydney). The core team also included associates Luke Hackett (Dubai), Jacob Turner (London) and Nicole Galedari (Dubai).

The team is advising GDH on all aspects of the transaction, drawing on experts across corporate M&A, private equity, funds, banking, real estate, antitrust, disputes and investigations, intellectual property, infrastructure, technology and digital, tax and employment.

The wider Baker McKenzie team included:

• Corporate M&A: Tamim AlKhudhayri (Partner, Riyadh), James Burdett (Partner, Abu Dhabi), Jack Bliss (Associate, London), Neda Bahador (Associate, Dubai), Ethan McAuliffe (Associate, London), Ziad Raheb (Senior Associate, Jeddah), Mohammad AlZibdeh (Associate, Dubai)
• Antitrust: David Monnier (Partner, Riyadh), Marwan Othman (Associate, Riyadh), Ruwaa AlAbdullatif (Trainee Associate, Riyadh)
• Banking and Finance: Adil Hussein (Partner, Dubai), Chaya Gupta (Senior Associate, Dubai)
• Employment: Joanna Matthews-Taylor (Partner, Dubai), Aqsa Sadiq (Senior Associate, Dubai), Mark Tedeschi (Associate, Dubai)
• Real Estate: Keri Watkins (Partner, Dubai), Ali Amir (Senior Associate, Dubai), Tessa Crawford (Associate, Dubai), Anna George (Associate, Dubai), Jana Al-Afoo (Associate, Bahrain)
• ADR: Luka Kristovic-Blazevic (Partner, Dubai), Richard Molesworth (Counsel, London), (Marlize Dumas (Associate, Dubai)
• Tax: Reggie Mezu (Senior Counsel, Dubai), Ben Phillips (Senior Associate, Dubai), Fewa Olu-Martins (Associate, London)
• TMT and IP: Dino Wilkinson (Partner, Abu Dhabi), Simone Blackadder (Special Counsel, Sydney), Kirsten Foley (Associate, Sydney), Alison Chen (Associate, Sydney), Maher Ghalloussi (Associate, Dubai)