du Alliance Brings Platform Equinix to the Middle East by Creating a New Hub in Dubai

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Equinix acquires data center in Dubai; du establishes datamena transit zone

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (DFM: du), today announced they have entered into an alliance to deliver data center and interconnection services to customers in the Middle East.

This alliance will establish the first world-class, carrier-neutral hub in the region where carriers, content providers, cloud providers, financial service and enterprise customers colocate critical data infrastructure.

To underpin the alliance’s initial business offering, Equinix has acquired a newly built data center facility in Dubai. Equinix will operate this new International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center, which has capacity of 44,000 square feet and approximately 650 cabinets. The first phase of the data center is expected to be completed and open for business by January 1, 2013. Equinix expects to invest approximately US$40 million for the acquisition, upgrade and future expansion of this site.

Additionally, du has created the recently announced datamena brand, and expects to invest an equivalent amount to further grow the datamena platform and service portfolio over time. datamena constitutes a transit zone, which allows international customers to host and distribute content, and to trade data capacity in a cost effective way. datamena services will only be available in the data centers in the alliance. Along with investments in the datamena hub, du has also secured the capability to offer its enterprise customers du managed data center services and data center capacity.

Through this alliance, customers of Equinix and du will benefit from close proximity to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and regional market and have the opportunity to connect to more than 4,000 customers across Platform Equinix™. This brings significant advantages to customers looking to expand their global footprint, and is expected to be a growth accelerator for businesses in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East region. UAE-based organizations will be able to gain competitive advantage through the provision of operationally reliable, highly resilient and secure data center facilities located within country. The alliance will allow du to offer network, interconnection and data center services to its existing and growing UAE customer base.

“The Middle East continues to strengthen its position as an important business hub and we are seeing increased demand from our customers for data center services across the region. We see Dubai and the UAE as a key business gateway and are excited to open a new data center in the area to help facilitate growth,” said Eric Schwartz, president, Equinix EMEA. “Many companies are looking to expand their operations into and out of the area, and we will be working with du to provide the connectivity and services they require to succeed.”

Osman Sultan, CEO for du, said, “The alliance enables our customers to expand their digital footprint from a location where some of the fastest-growing markets in the world intersect. The introduction of datamena and a carrier-neutral data center will act as a catalyst for the next stage of internet development in the region. This resonates with the UAE’s vision of enhancing its role as a regional business hub and to be one of the best places to do business in the world.”

About du

We opened for business in 2006. We offer mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.

As a rapidly-growing enterprise, we have over 2,000 people working to enhance and expand our bouquet of service offerings. Our people come from over 60 countries - we mirror the rich cultural diversity of our nation, while being able to serve our customers in a variety of languages.

Over 50 percent of our senior management team and customer-facing employees are UAE nationals, and we remain committed to providing fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment.

By the end of Q2 2012, more than 5.7 million people and over 50,000 businesses have chosen to use our services. In a survey conducted by ARC Chart, we were named the Best Mobile Broadband Network 2012 in the Middle East and Africa region. We also ranked first in MENA’s Standard & Poor/Hawkamah Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Index in 2011.

du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.075 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. du is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name ‘du’.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects more than 4,000 companies directly to their customers and partners inside the world’s most networked data centers. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix interconnection platform in 30 strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. www.equinix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include risks and uncertainties associated with our expansion to the Middle East, including, but not limited to, the risks and challenges of international operations and entering into an alliance with a new partner. We also face other general risks, including, but not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix’s recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc. International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.

Equinix Media Contacts
Equinix, Inc.
Melissa Neumann, +1 650-598-6098 (Global/US)
mneumann@equinix.com
or
Text 100
Camille Pomey, +44 (0)20 8846 0789 (EMEA)
londonequinix@text100.com
or
Equinix Investor Relations Contact
Equinix, Inc.
Katrina Rymill, +1 650-598-6583
krymill@equinix.com
or
du Media Contacts
Saugat Chatterjee, +971 55 9367045
Brand & Communications
du
saugat.chatterjee@du.ae
or
LeoComm PR
Reka Sepsy, +971 4 367 6154 (Tel)
+971 55 220 68 20 (Mobile)
reka.sepsy@leocommpr.com

Source: Equinix, Inc.

Released November 20, 2012