It would be unkind to name the analyst who commented, in a preview of TelecityGroup’s figure yesterday, that its business model “does not lend itself to surprises”. Since that was written, there have been reports of a possible private equity approach for the operator of data storage centres, led by Michael Tobin, the former chief executive who left unexpectedly last year.
The company has announced a $2.2 billion deal to merge with a Dutch rival, a move that will almost double its size. That’s probably enough surprises for one week.
Telecity is hoping to buy the Dutch-based but New York-quoted Interxion, all of whose assets are in Europe. The talks are non-binding, which means anyone could gatecrash them, including private equity firms. They have