Element Critical has launched a new US data center platform backed by 26North Partners, Arctos, Mercuria, and Safanad. The initiative is anchored by the acquisition of two enterprise data center facilities in Houston and Austin, marking the company’s latest move to address rising demand for capacity driven by artificial intelligence (AI) inference, advanced digital workloads, and challenges in power-constrained markets.
The new platform aims to accelerate Element Critical’s expansion across major US markets through increased acquisitions and strategic development. The company notes that its focus is on providing hybrid-ready, carrier-neutral facilities supporting both traditional enterprise applications and GPU-intensive AI environments. Its data centers serve a diverse base of enterprise, hyperscale, AI, and neo-cloud customers that require robust colocation and connectivity services.
According to Element Critical, the partnership combines 26North’s investment expertise, Mercuria’s energy market and low-carbon power experience, Safanad’s operational track record, and Arctos’s strengths in providing capital solutions. These combined capabilities are intended to position Element Critical to meet the capacity needs of sectors including technology, financial services, healthcare, and energy, with a particular emphasis on the infrastructure challenges posed by next-generation technologies and AI inference workloads.
The company reports, “Through this investment and data center acquisition strategy, Element Critical will be well-positioned to support the needs of leading clients in technology, financial services, healthcare, energy and Fortune 500 companies,” said Ken Parent, CEO of Element Critical. “These Texas facilities will anchor our expansion into other top U.S. markets.”
Guggenheim Securities and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisors to Safanad. King & Spalding served as legal advisor to Safanad, DLA Piper advised 26North, and Kirkland & Ellis advised the platform on the Houston and Austin acquisitions. BofA Securities and Citizens Bank acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Huntington National Bank was a joint lead arranger for transaction financing.
Element Critical was founded in 2014 and operates facilities in Houston, Austin, and Chicago with expansion plans targeting key Tier 1 and Tier 2 US markets.
Source: Element Critical
