Goodman, CPP Establish European Data Center Investment Platform
Goodman Group signed an agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) to establish a $9.4 billion European data center partnership.
The partners structured the platform as a 50-50 joint venture valued at $9.4 billion. An initial equity commitment of $2.6 billion will fund four data center developments in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris. The locations sit within established infrastructure corridors serving hyperscale and enterprise customers.
The portfolio includes one facility in Frankfurt, one in Amsterdam, and two in Paris. Together, the sites will deliver 435 megawatts of primary power and 282 megawatts of IT load capacity once operational. Each project has secured grid access and planning approvals.
“All projects provide speed to market with secured power connections, planning permits and substantially progressed site infrastructure works, enabling construction commencements by June 30, 2026,” Goodman and CPP said in a joint statement.
Portfolio Development and Capital Strategy
The transaction extends Goodman’s expansion into digital infrastructure alongside its global industrial property platform. The company manages logistics, warehouse, and data center assets across multiple regions. Its total portfolio value exceeds $50 billion.
Data centers now represent a defined growth priority within Goodman’s development strategy. Cloud providers and enterprises continue to seek scalable capacity in power-constrained markets. Earlier this year, Goodman announced plans to raise $2.6 billion to support global data center expansion.
CPP Investments has partnered with Goodman since 2009 across Australia, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The European platform builds on that relationship and aligns with CPP Investments’ long-term allocation to real assets tied to digital infrastructure.
“By combining Goodman’s extensive development capabilities with our global conviction in digital infrastructure, this partnership allows us to capitalize on a compelling growth opportunity for the long-term benefit of CPP contributors and beneficiaries,” said Maximilian Biagosch, global head of real assets at CPP Investments.
European Market Context and FLAP-D Concentration
The agreement comes as Europe’s data center sector enters a sustained expansion phase. Industry projections estimate investment could reach $114 billion by 2030. Growth continues to track rising cloud adoption, AI workloads, and data sovereignty requirements.
Europe hosts more than 10,000 data centers, according to industry estimates. Capacity growth remains concentrated in the FLAP-D markets of Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin. These cities offer dense fiber networks, strong enterprise demand, and established power infrastructure.
European Data Centre Association has positioned data centers as critical to Europe’s digital economy. Its inaugural State of European Data Centers report links infrastructure availability to economic competitiveness and public-sector digitization.
“The data center is the physical place that runs the cloud and the internet,” Michael Winterson, secretary general of the EUDCA, told Data Center Knowledge earlier this year. “If you want a digital economy, you have to have data centers.”
Strategic Rationale and Market Implications
Executives cite the scarcity of large, fully powered sites in Europe’s core markets as a defining constraint. Developers face mounting challenges tied to grid access, permitting timelines, and land availability. These factors increasingly shape capital allocation decisions.
Goodman has emphasized the strategic value of sites that combine secured power with delivery certainty. Projects that meet those criteria remain in short supply across major European metros.
Discussing the transaction, Goodman Group CEO Greg Goodman said: “A portfolio of this size and quality, located in Europe’s FLAP markets is rare. These powered locations are highly sought after to meet the rapidly growing requirement for cloud computing and AI adoption, particularly when they offer speed to market and delivery certainty.”
