DigitalBridge and JEXI Acquire NEC Data Centers in Japan, Forming New Colocation Platform
March 31, 2026
In a significant move within Japan's rapidly growing digital infrastructure sector, a joint venture formed by funds managed by global investment firm DigitalBridge and Japan Extensive Infrastructure (JEXI) has completed the acquisition of two key data center assets from NEC Corporation. The transaction, which closed at the end of March, highlights the intensifying investor interest in Japan's data center market, driven by robust domestic demand for cloud and colocation services.
The acquired assets are the NEC Kanagawa Data Center and the NEC Kobe Data Center. Following the deal, these facilities will be operated as a new, standalone data center platform. NEC will remain as the anchor tenant, while the platform will also be marketed to other colocation customers, expanding access to these strategic assets. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, though previous reports in 2024 had valued NEC's data center portfolio at approximately $400-500 million.
Justin Chang, Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia at DigitalBridge, commented on the strategic rationale, stating, "Japan presents a compelling opportunity in enterprise colocation, supported by resilient domestic demand and strong structural tailwinds." He added, "We are privileged to partner with NEC, one of the leading IT Services companies in Japan. As we expand these assets over time, we look forward to serving the needs of other Japanese data center customers."
For NEC, this divestment is part of a strategic shift to enhance capital efficiency and focus on its digital transformation (DX) business. Despite the sale, the company confirmed it will continue to build new data centers and pursue partnerships in Japan and globally. Yuka Shigesawa, NEC’s Managing Director of the Cloud/Managed Services Division, noted, "This transaction enables us to continue to meet the data center needs of our customers through a more flexible colocation model capable of evolving over time."
JEXI, an investment advisory firm within the Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group focused on domestic infrastructure, emphasized the deal's alignment with Japan's broader economic goals. Kenjiro Okamura, Chief Investment Officer and Representative Director at JEXI, said, "We are delighted to partner with DigitalBridge and NEC to create a stable, domestically anchored data center platform that can scale with market needs." He further explained that the transaction provides financial support to evolve NEC's business structure while contributing to the development of Japan's digital infrastructure.
The deal underscores DigitalBridge's expanding footprint in Asia. The firm, which manages about $115 billion in assets across more than 45 digital infrastructure companies including Vantage and DataBank, is itself in the process of being acquired by Japan's SoftBank. For the Japanese market, the creation of a new, independently operated platform backed by global and local expertise is poised to increase colocation capacity and competition, catering to the sustained growth in data consumption and enterprise digitalization.
Source: datacenterdynamics
