H5 and NovaCap Form HyscaleIX Data Center Platform, Acquire Key Carrier Hotels
February 3, 2026
In a significant move within the North American digital infrastructure sector, investment firm NovaCap and operator H5 Data Centers have launched a new joint venture platform, HyscaleIX Data Centers, and simultaneously acquired a strategic portfolio of carrier hotel assets. The transaction underscores the continued investor appetite for highly connected, mission-critical data center properties that form the backbone of regional network ecosystems.
The newly formed platform, HyscaleIX, is immediately anchored by the acquisition of three carrier hotel facilities from 365 Data Centers, located in Buffalo, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; and Tampa, Florida. A fourth, undisclosed facility in the Midwestern United States is also part of the initial portfolio. Each site hosts a local Internet exchange (IX), positioning them as vital interconnection hubs. While financial terms were not disclosed, the acquired assets include notable properties: the 19,000-square-foot Buffalo III data center within the Main Place Tower; the 30,400-square-foot facility in Tampa's Franklin Exchange Building, home to the TPA IX; and a 19,700-square-foot site in Nashville.
Ted Mocarski, Senior Partner and Head of Digital Infrastructure at NovaCap, emphasized the strategic rationale, stating, "Carrier hotels are highly sought-after data centers that perform a critical role in core network ecosystems. Partnering with H5 allows us to combine experienced institutional capital with proven operating expertise as we execute on the platform’s growth strategy."
The deal brings together substantial industry scale. NovaCap, a Canadian private equity firm founded in 1981, manages over C$10 billion (approximately US$7 billion) in assets. H5 Data Centers operates more than 4 million square feet of data center space across 20 U.S. markets. This marks the second joint venture between the two parties, following the formation of Hyscale last year, which focused on wholesale colocation.
For the seller, 365 Data Centers, the divestiture of these non-core, smaller-market assets provides capital to focus on expansion and higher-density megawatt-scale services at its larger facilities. The company, which operates over 20 sites with roughly 53MW of capacity across the U.S., was acquired by Stonecourt Capital in 2020. CEO Derek Gillespie noted, "365 is proud to have developed each of these data centers into the leading regional network hub and pleased that HyscaleIX... is a customer-focused, best-in-class operator."
The formation of HyscaleIX signals a targeted investment strategy within the competitive data center landscape, focusing on the high-value niche of carrier-dense interconnection points. It enables the partners to leverage H5's operational track record and NovaCap's financial resources to consolidate and scale a portfolio of assets that are essential for low-latency connectivity, a growing imperative for enterprise and cloud workloads.
Source: datacenterdynamics
