The news: 

• Equinix, a US-based data centre and colocation provider for enterprise networks, has completed its post-acquisition integration of Nigeria-born connectivity company MainOne. 
• This integration, which follows a $320 million acquisition in 2022, marks a major step in establishing Equinix’s foothold in Nigeria’s growing data centre market.
• Integrations following a merger typically involve unifying and rearranging assets, resources, and personnel. In MainOne’s case, the integration has led to employees receiving new contracts, which included a pay increase. 

However, according to some employees, the pay bump was lower than expected, causing some delays in contract signings.

One source told TechCabal that the salary increase would only be reflected in March 2025, after the company’s financial year-end and noted that an internal survey indicated that a portion of employees were dissatisfied with their new pay packages. Another source remarked that while the new salary is fair, it remains denominated in naira.

The integration process took nearly two years because of the complex workload migration, involving moving data, applications, and IT processes across various environments. 

This process typically entails the transfer of resources between physical servers, virtual machines, or different infrastructures. Given the size of the two companies involved, and their different product portfolio, pricing, and operation support systems, such integrations are expected to take time. 

While MainOne has yet to comment on the integration, it’s evident that it follows a pattern seen in similar acquisitions across Africa, including those involving 9mobile, and Medallion. Each case demonstrated the challenges of aligning corporate cultures, systems, and processes.

MainOne will retain its brand as “MainOne, Solutions by Equinix,” while its data centre division, MDXi, will operate under the Equinix name. 

Funke Opeke will continue to lead the company as managing director, alongside the existing leadership of MDXi. Over time, Equinix’s global corporate culture is expected to be gradually introduced.

Equinix has ambitious plans for the Nigerian market, including three new data centre projects. These include an interconnection hub in Victoria Island to be completed in 2025, a 1,000+ rack data centre in Lekki scheduled for 2026, and another centre in Port Harcourt, where construction has already begun, boosted by the landing of Meta’s 2Africa submarine cable.

The expansion is timely as Nigeria’s demand for data centre services rises, with local operators like Rack Centre, Medallion, and Open Access Data Centre (OADC) also scaling up operations. 

Equinix’s presence strengthens competition and enhances Nigeria’s capacity to handle growing digital demands.