CBRE to Acquire Onnec for Up to $1.01B, Expanding Data Center Infrastructure Services Across Europe and Asia Pacific

CBRE Group has agreed to acquire London-based Onnec Group in a deal valued at up to approximately $1.01 billion, a move that significantly broadens the commercial real estate and infrastructure services firm's data center capabilities across Europe and Asia Pacific. The definitive agreement, announced on October 20, underscores how surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is pushing service providers to deepen their technical expertise beyond traditional real estate and power capacity.

Under the terms of the agreement, CBRE will pay an initial GBP 460 million, or roughly $610 million, in cash, with a multi-year earnout of as much as GBP 300 million, or approximately $400 million, tied to Onnec meeting specified growth thresholds. The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close around the end of 2026. Upon completion, Onnec will become part of CBRE's Critical Infrastructure Services line of business.

Founded in 1986, Onnec designs, deploys and maintains network, fiber and data center infrastructure. The company employs approximately 800 people and serves hyperscale technology customers across the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Asia Pacific. CBRE said Onnec's footprint complements the data center infrastructure services it already delivers in the United States, adding specialized cabling, networking and deployment capabilities at a time when higher-density AI infrastructure is increasing the complexity of data center buildouts. The combination could help hyperscalers standardize deployments across regions and reduce handoff problems between construction, network installation and ongoing operations, according to independent technology publication TechTarget.

CBRE expects Onnec to generate approximately GBP 370 million, or $498 million, in revenue and more than GBP 50 million, or $67 million, in core EBITDA in 2027, based on management forecasts rather than historical results. The company also anticipates the acquisition will be immediately accretive to core earnings per share. Onnec has been steadily expanding its Asia Pacific presence as cloud, AI and digital-service demand drives new data center construction. In a February update, the company said it had established entities in Malaysia and Thailand in 2025, adding to existing operations in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Onnec reported recently completing copper cabling and fiber-optic installations in Sydney, Melbourne and Johor, Malaysia, and described work supporting liquid-cooled GPU racks and other high-density infrastructure. The company said its regional delivery network is backed by a global operations team of more than 200 full-time employees and 30 regional partners with over 2,000 trained engineers, though these operating-scale figures are company-supplied and have not been independently audited in the acquisition announcement.

The regional expansion places Onnec in several of Asia's fastest-growing data center markets. Malaysia and Thailand are drawing investment as operators seek land, power and connectivity outside more constrained hubs, while Singapore remains a regional center for data center ownership and financing. CBRE projects that its Critical Infrastructure Services business, including Onnec, will produce nearly $4.5 billion in revenue in 2027, with Project Management, Advisory Services and other service businesses contributing almost $2.5 billion in infrastructure-services revenue, bringing the combined estimate to nearly $7 billion. The forecast excludes periodic data center land sales from CBRE's development business.

The acquisition illustrates how data center demand is expanding beyond real estate and power capacity into the technical work needed to connect, commission and maintain computing infrastructure. For CBRE, the deal would add an established deployment platform in Europe and Asia Pacific while linking those capabilities with its existing US operations. The final consideration could be materially below the headline value if Onnec does not meet the earnout thresholds. CBRE and Onnec did not disclose detailed performance targets, financing arrangements or any planned workforce changes.