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NOVA Infrastructure, a middle-market infrastructure investment firm, said it has completed a majority investment in DartPoints, a leading provider of secure, high-performance data center solutions for enterprises.

Officials said NOVA’s investment includes a significant growth capital component designed to scale DartPoints’ platform and expand its footprint through targeted investments in capacity expansion and strategic M&A to meet market demand. 

“We’re excited to partner with a best-in-class data center management team and platform serving a diverse and growing base of enterprise customers,” said Chris Beall, managing partner at NOVA.

Beall added, “We look forward to growing the business and capitalizing on the significant opportunity in DartPoints’ target markets, which benefit from shifting demand trends and the decentralization of digital workloads."

DartPoints provides essential IT services to both retail and wholesale customers through a distributed network of data center facilities.

The company serves more than 900 enterprise customers, including major universities, hospital systems and Fortune 500 companies, from 11 data centers in 10 markets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana and Louisiana.

With the transaction, DartPoints acquired the underlying real estate in DartPoints’ Greenville, SC; Baton Rouge, LA; and Asheville, NC, data centers, further transitioning to ownership of its strategic facilities.

Officials said that as part of the transaction, existing sponsor Astra Capital Management will retain a minority stake in the business, demonstrating continued confidence in the company’s long-term growth strategy.

Orion Infrastructure Capital has also joined as a lender and investment partner, providing a senior secured credit facility and participating as a minority equity investor.

NOVA and OIC’s commitments to DartPoints total more than $250 million of capital.

“We’re entering a new phase of growth centered on infrastructure ownership, operational control and strategic market expansion,” said Scott Willis, CEO of DartPoints. “We’ve always believed that Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets deserve the same digital capabilities as Tier 1 metros.:

Willis added, “This transaction positions us to bring scalable, secure infrastructure closer to the demand wherever it’s needed, especially as data-intensive workloads take hold across industries. We are thrilled to work with NOVA to efficiently and effectively grow our business.”

Bank Street Group served as exclusive M&A advisor, Houlihan Lokey advised on the debt financing, and Sheppard Mullin and Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal counsel to DartPoints.

Winston & Strawn served as legal counsel for NOVA and Vinson & Elkins served as legal counsel for OIC.