US investment firm Bain Capital is seeking to sell the China business of data center operator WinTriX DC Group in a deal that could value the business at over US$4 billion (HK$31.2 billion), according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Bain Capital has engaged advisers who have held preliminary conversations with potential buyers in recent months, the sources said, declining to be identified as the information is not public.
The China business of WinTriX, formerly known as Chindata Group Holdings, has estimated 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of close to 4 billion yuan, they added.
Bain Capital declined to comment, and WinTriX did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The potential deal comes nearly two years after Bain Capital privatized Nasdaq-listed Chindata in a US$3.16 billion deal.
Bain Capital initially acquired Chindata in 2019 and merged it with Southeast Asia’s Bridge Data Centres the same year. The listed entity was a combination of both businesses. After the take-private, the Boston-based firm separated the two under WinTriX, according to a third person familiar with the matter.
The move to sell also coincides with soaring valuations for data center assets, fueled by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies.
Last year, Australian data center operator AirTrunk was sold to a Blackstone-led consortium for over 20 times its forward core earnings, Reuters reported.
WinTriX’s Chinese rival, GDS Holdings, is currently trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 8.48 times, according to LSEG data.
In February, Fitch Ratings downgraded WinTriX’s long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings to “BB” from “BBB” with a stable outlook. Fitch attributed the downgrade to expectations of significantly higher business risks as WinTriX shifts its strategy toward overseas investment.
Fitch highlighted slower hyperscale data center demand and heightened competition in China as key risks.
WinTriX’s largest customer, social media giant ByteDance, accounted for 86 percent of its revenue in 2022, Fitch reported.
Outside of China, WinTriX operates data centers in India and Malaysia. In March, its unit Bridge Data Centres, which manages operations outside China, secured US$2.8 billion in bank financing to fuel expansion.
Bain Capital intends to retain control of Bridge Data Centres for the time being, according to the sources.
Reuters
