QTS Realty Trust on a buying binge
Overland Park-based QTS Realty Trust has been on a spending spree in July, acquiring two properties for more than $90 million.
The company, which provdes data centers that serve businesses and government agencies, last week spent about $18 million to acquire the old Chicago Sun-Times printing plant.
The plant, which was closed in 2011, is located on 30 acres in downtown Chicago. QTS said it plans to expand the 317,000-square-foot facility to about 400,000 square feet for electronic data storage, and later develop more of the land along the Chicago River.
“Our strategy and business model is to provide an integrated technology platform on top of world-class infrastructure,” Chad Williams, the chief executive officer of QTS said in a statement. “This acquisition strongly supports our growth philosophy.”
Williams noted that more than 30 Fortune 500 companies are based in the Chicago area.
The Sun-Times opened the printing center in 1999, but the paper has been printed by the Chicago Tribune since 2011.
The printing plant purchase followed the acquisition earlier in the month of the McGraw Hill Financial Inc. data center in East Windsor, N.J.
QTS paid about $75 million for the 560,000-square-foot building located on more than 194 acres. The property includes a 50-acre, 14.1 megawatt solar field.
The company also said it has formed a partnership with Atos, a French information technology services company. Under the agreement, QTS will serve as the North American data center partner for Atos.
QTS said it will provide more details about the two acquisitions when it holds a conference call with analysts to discuss second-quarter earnings on July 30.
The eight-year-old company, at 12851 Foster St., last year raised nearly $300 million through a public stock offering. Shares are traded under the ticker symbol QTS on the New York Stock Exchange.
QTS operates 11 data centers in seven states and has more than 875 customers.
To reach Steve Rosen, call 816-234-4879 or send email to srosen@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published July 15, 2014 at 1:00 AM with the headline "QTS Realty Trust on a buying binge."