Orange, Morrison plan French data centre venture to meet AI demand

• The planned capacity of 400 megawatts represents nearly 10 times Orange's current data centre capacity level
• Orange will contribute five existing data centres in France while Morrison provides equity funding for expansion
• Transaction signing is expected by end of 2026 with completion in Q1 2027, subject to regulatory approvals

Orange and Morrison Plan €3 Billion French Data Centre Joint Venture

French telecommunications operator Orange and infrastructure investor Morrison announced plans to establish a 50-50 joint venture to develop data centre capacity in France, responding to surging demand for artificial intelligence and cloud services.

Key Financial Details:

• Total investment: €3 billion ($3.41 billion)
• Target capacity: 400 megawatts – nearly 10 times Orange's current data centre capacity
• Funding structure: Combination of Orange assets, Morrison equity funding, and debt financing

Transaction Structure:

Orange will contribute five existing data centres in France to the venture, while Morrison will provide equity funding to support expansion. The partnership aims to significantly scale up infrastructure to meet growing AI and cloud computing requirements.

Timeline:

• Expected signing: End of 2026
• Anticipated completion: Q1 2027
• Transaction subject to regulatory approvals

Market Implications:

This venture reflects the intensifying infrastructure race in Europe to support AI workloads and cloud services. The 10x capacity expansion underscores the massive data centre capacity shortage as AI adoption accelerates. The deal positions France as a strategic European hub for digital infrastructure and demonstrates how traditional telecom operators are partnering with specialized infrastructure investors to meet capital-intensive data centre demands.

The joint venture structure allows Orange to leverage its existing assets while sharing the substantial capital requirements with Morrison, a model that could become more common as telecom operators seek to capitalize on AI-driven data centre growth without bearing full financial risk.