Starwood Capital Group Launches Starwood Digital Ventures

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Jan 18, 2024, 08:30 ET

New Platform to Oversee the Firm's Growing U.S. and European Data Center Investment Strategy, which Currently Includes $8 Billion in Assets

Starwood Capital Also Enters Strategic Alliance with Worldwide Mission Critical to Help Support Anticipated Growth

MIAMI, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Capital Group ("Starwood Capital" or "the Firm"), a leading global private investment firm focused on real estate, today announced the launch of Starwood Digital Ventures ("Starwood Digital" or "the Platform"), a platform dedicated to the Firm's growing global data center investment strategy.

Over the past five years, Starwood Capital has committed a total of approximately $8 billion in data center development encompassing 1.5 gigawatts in various stages of development, making it one of the largest privately held data center developers in the United States and Europe. Starwood Digital Ventures will utilize funds from various Starwood Investment Vehicles to continue to develop its pipeline as well as partner with best-in-class data center operators.

In conjunction with this announcement, Starwood Capital also announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Worldwide Mission Critical, an industry-leading consulting firm with deep expertise assisting clients with the design and development of data center projects. Worldwide Mission Critical provides services ranging from design management, bidding and procurement, construction quality control, and integrated testing for data center projects. The firm has partnered with Starwood Capital on several projects over the past five years. The strategic alliance will allow Starwood Capital to quickly scale its data center platform to support anticipated growth.

"We are incredibly excited about the launch of Starwood Digital, which will provide us with additional opportunities to grow our data center portfolio amidst strong industry tailwinds," said Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital. "With the strong demand for data center services in the United States and growing needs to support end uses such as artificial intelligence, we see continued opportunity to invest in this growing sector."

"In addition, we have worked closely with Worldwide Mission Critical the last several years and look forward to deepening our relationship with the industry experts there, who have become valued partners of ours, as we leverage their skills and strong industry reputation to expand our data center investments both domestically and abroad generating compelling value for our investors," said Anthony Balestrieri, Managing Director at Starwood Capital.

About Starwood Capital Group

Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a core focus on global real estate. The Firm and its affiliates maintain 16 offices in seven countries around the world, and currently have 5,000+ employees. Since its inception in 1991, Starwood Capital Group has raised over $75 billion of capital, and currently has ~$115 billion of assets under management. Through a series of comingled opportunity funds and Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (SREIT), a non-listed REIT, the Firm has invested in virtually every category of real estate on a global basis, opportunistically shifting asset classes, geographies and positions in the capital stack as it perceives risk/reward dynamics to be evolving. Starwood Capital also manages Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States, which has successfully deployed over $95 billion of capital since inception and manages a portfolio of over $27 billion across debt and equity investments. Over the past 32 years, Starwood Capital Group and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment strategy that involves building enterprises in both the private and public markets. Additional information can be found at www.starwoodcapital.com.

About Worldwide Mission Critical

Worldwide Mission Critical is a global owner's representation and project management company dedicated to advancing the data center industry. Relying on a team of more than 30 design and construction professionals, Worldwide Mission Critical handles every aspect of the development of data centers, including site selection, plan development, procurement, design oversight, construction and building turnover. Founded in 2018 under the principle of delivering high-quality, impactful projects, Worldwide Mission Critical has successfully completed more than 650 projects and currently maintains more than 3.5GW of data centers under development with operations spanning five continents. For more information, visit worldwidemissioncritical.com.

SOURCE Starwood Capital Group