Bain Capital strikes $4b deal of China data centers to HEC group

Bain Capital has agreed to sell its China data center assets to Shenzhen Dongyangguang Industry in a deal valued at about US$4 billion.

Shenzhen Dongyangguang, the parent of Shanghai-listed Guangdong HEC Technology Holding, is leading a consortium of institutional and government investors to acquire the China assets of WinTrix DC Group, formerly known as Chindata Group Holdings.

Guangdong HEC and a related party will invest a combined 7.5 billion yuan (US$983 million) into a joint venture for the purchase, with Guangdong HEC set to hold around 46.7% of the entity.

Chindata operates data centers in key Chinese markets and counts ByteDance among its clients.

Guangdong HEC, valued at about US$10.2 billion, manufactures components used in AI and data center systems.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Private equity firms are accelerating exits from China data centers amid market consolidation

Bain Capital’s timeline demonstrates how quickly PE firms are moving in China’s data center space, taking Chindata private in 2023 and selling for $4 billion just two years later1.
This accelerated exit comes as infrastructure deal activity declined 8% globally in 2024, but 86% of investment bankers expect infrastructure deal growth in 2025, particularly in sectors like data centers2.
Digital infrastructure has become a popular target for investors seeking stable returns as global reliance on AI increases, with the data center market projected to reach $527.46 billion by 20253.

Component suppliers are vertically integrating into data center operations to capture AI boom profits

HEC Group’s acquisition represents a strategic move up the value chain, transitioning from supplying aluminum capacitors and electrode foils for AI systems to owning the entire data center infrastructure1.
The market has rewarded this strategy, with HEC’s stock surging 113% this year to reach a $10.2 billion market capitalization before announcing the deal1.
This vertical integration allows HEC to capture profits from both component manufacturing and data center operations, particularly valuable as AI workloads require increasingly sophisticated infrastructure and cooling solutions3.