Blackstone launches first owned-data centre Lumina Cloudinfra

Mumbai, Nov 15 (PTI) Blackstone has launched its first wholly-owned data centre Lumina Cloudinfra, owned and managed by the global private equity fund's real estate and tactical opportunities funds.

Anil Reddy as the global chief executive will lead the platform's strategy, expansion and growth across Asia, Blackstone said in a statement on Tuesday. He is the former head of global cloud infrastructure at Microsoft.

The other top management team includes Sujeet Deshpande, who will be the chief executive of the Indian business. He joins from Colt Data Center Services where he was the president and country head of India.

The launch of Lumina reflects Blackstone's continued focus on data infrastructure globally and commitment to deepening its presence in Asia, the statement said.

The data centre sector is anchored by strong demand for data creation and storage around the world, particularly in India where many of the fastest-growing companies are based, Reddy said.

The domestic data centre market, which is predicted to surpass USD 10 billion by 2027, driven by the country's growing attraction as a technology and innovation hub, is rapidly increasing Internet and mobile consumption, and government initiatives to transform the nation into a digitally-empowered economy, Reddy added.

Lumina already has two large-scale pipeline assets in the country in its portfolio and as the digitalisation megatrend continues accelerating.

Growth of the public and private cloud is one of our highest conviction investment themes globally, particularly in India, where many of our investments have centred around technology-enabled businesses and properties, said Jasvinder Khaira, the head of digital infrastructure at Blackstone's tactical opportunities group.

Lumina is well-positioned to benefit from the country's digital transformation, supported by the combined expertise and experience of industry veterans, the fund's on-ground teams, said Asheesh Mohta, the head of realty acquisitions in India for Blackstone. PTI BEN BAL BAL