CBRE agrees to buy data center integrator Onnec for up to £760m
The Dallas-based real estate services group is adding a hyperscaler cabling and network specialist to the infrastructure business it has been building alongside its property work
- Onnec 2025: revenue of £193m, up 41%, and adjusted EBITDA of £21.9m, according to IT Channel Oxygen
- Onnec 2027 forecast: about £370m of revenue and more than £50m of core EBITDA, CBRE said
- Completion: expected around the end of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals
- Advisers: J.P. Morgan Securities and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for CBRE; Goldman Sachs International and Freshfields for Onnec
- Buyer: CBRE, headquartered in Dallas, has more than 155,000 employees
On completion, Onnec’s vendor partnerships pass to an owner whose building operations segment already sells facilities management and critical infrastructure services, so those vendors gain a partner that can offer network and cabling work alongside them. Independent cabling and network integrators chasing hyperscaler build-outs would then be competing with a rival owned by a facilities management group. The release does not say whether Onnec’s office and enterprise work outside the hyperscaler base will continue on the same footing under CBRE.
“CBRE is pursuing an explicit strategy to build a global infrastructure services business to complement our real estate services business. We’ve long believed Onnec is an excellent fit in this strategy.”Vikram Kohli, chief operating officer, CBRE
CBRE Group agreed on 20 October to acquire Onnec Group Limited, a London-based data center infrastructure services provider, for an initial £460m (about $610m) in cash. The two sides have also agreed a multi-year earnout of up to £300m (about $400m), payable if Onnec meets set growth thresholds.
Founded in 1986, Onnec designs, deploys and maintains network, fiber and data center infrastructure, and its 800 or so employees serve hyperscalers in Europe and Asia Pacific. According to IT Channel Oxygen, which ranks Onnec 31st in its Oxygen 250 for 2026, the group trades under brands including Excel, Redstone, Kedington and Load Services, and counts Cisco, HPE, Fortinet and CommScope among its vendor partners.
Onnec will sit in CBRE’s Critical Infrastructure Services business line, which CBRE expects to generate nearly $4.5bn (£3.4bn) of revenue in 2027 with Onnec included. Adding its Project Management and Advisory Services work, CBRE puts total infrastructure services revenue for 2027 at nearly $7.0bn (£5.3bn), not counting periodic data center land sales. CBRE said Onnec’s geographic presence lines up with the data center services it already delivers in the United States, and that the deal would add to its core earnings per share from the start.
Sources
- CBRE, “CBRE Expands Critical Infrastructure Capabilities in Europe and Asia Pacific with Onnec Acquisition”, press release, 20 October 2026. https://ir.cbre.com/press-releases/detail/270/cbre-expands-critical-infrastructure-capabilities
- Onnec, “CBRE Expands Critical Infrastructure Capabilities in Europe and Asia Pacific with Onnec Acquisition”, press release, 20 October 2026. https://www.onnecgroup.com/2026/10/20/cbre-onnec-acquisition/
- IT Channel Oxygen, “Hyperscaler-focused integrator Onnec grabbed for up to $1bn”, 20 October 2026. https://itchanneloxygen.com/hyperscaler-focused-integrator-onnec-grabbed-for-up-to-1bn/
