ST. LOUIS, Mo. and DALLAS, Tx. – April 27, 2021: Ascent, a leading provider of customer-driven solutions in the design, engineering, construction and operations of data centers and critical facilities, and Lincoln Rackhouse, the data center division of Lincoln Property Company, announced today the combination of data center facilities management operations to create a full-service, best-in-class platform focused on meeting the complex requirements and escalating demands of enterprise and hyperscale users.
The strategic partnership, which will operate as Ascent, underscores a mutual commitment to working with clients to provide powerful, flexible and customized solutions across the full lifecycle of a data center facility. Ascent’s services, which include data center operations and maintenance management, design, construction management and consulting and engineering, empower customers to reduce risk, optimize spend and gain more control over their data center environments.
Lincoln Rackhouse’s data center acquisition, development and project management activities will accelerate Ascent’s growth. Lincoln Rackhouse currently owns a portfolio of data centers, managing more than two million square feet of mission critical space across the U.S. and in London, England. Lincoln Rackhouse will continue to acquire and develop enterprise data center facilities and lease them to data center operators to accommodate the enterprise shift in demand for data center space and further expand its footprint. Each such acquisition and development will benefit from the expertise of Ascent.
“Partnering with Lincoln Rackhouse will be transformative for Ascent’s current and future customers,” said Bob Painter, President of Ascent. “The combination will allow us to continue providing and growing our industry-leading solutions and services offering and to accelerate our development and deployment of innovative technologies. This is the first step in our next decade of strategic growth, market leadership and best-in-class customer service.”
Martin Peck, who oversees the Lincoln Rackhouse business, will partner with Mr. Painter and the Ascent management team to merge these facility management platforms and grow the combined operation. “As new technologies and bandwidth requirements drive the evolution and growth of the data center industry, companies are increasing the outsourcing of their data center operations and monitoring to third-party operators that specialize in those operations,” stated Mr. Peck. “Ascent has top-shelf platforms and processes, but it is Ascent’s talented employees that make this partnership so special. We are honored to contribute to the growth of the go-forward company.”
An affiliate of Stone Point Capital LLC, an investment firm focused on the global financial services and related industries, has partnered with the Lincoln Rackhouse team, Ascent Founder Phil Horstmann, Mr. Painter and other members of Ascent’s senior management team to provide the combined company with growth capital.
Ascent has established a history of improving critical facility reliability, finding customer cost-savings and implementing value-added strategies for its clients’ operations. With a strong reputation for data center reliability, Ascent has served leading companies in the information technology, finance, insurance, health care, telecommunications and other industries. Ascent’s proprietary Navigator Platform is a facility-focused approach to managing critical systems equipment inventory, maintenance management and performance metrics. The platform serves more than 800 critical facilities located throughout the United States and Canada, delivering 24×7 operations support, critical site services and IT site services.
“Since Ascent’s inception in 1998, we have grown by expanding our strategic offerings in order to serve our clients. In partnering with a powerhouse real estate company like Lincoln and with capital and strategic support from Stone Point Capital, we are able to further advance our solutions and services offerings. This will provide expansion into enterprise, hyperscale and new development opportunities for the longevity of the business,” commented Mr. Horstmann.
