HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Global data

centre operator Equinix ( EQIX ) is considering a sale of a

minority stake in its Hong Kong facilities, valuing the assets

at around $2 billion, two sources said, in a move to capitalise

on the boom in demand from artificial intelligence.

Equinix ( EQIX ) has hired Citigroup ( C/PN ) to run the sale, the

sources said, who have direct knowledge of the matter but

declined to be named as the information is confidential.

The California-headquartered company could sell 25% in its

Hong Kong data centres, one of the people said.

Without commenting on the possible minority stake sale, an

Equinix ( EQIX ) spokesperson said that the company was fully committed

to its Hong Kong business.

"Equinix Hong Kong serves as a key interconnection hub for

our global customer base. We will continue to invest in future

growth to ensure our customers can deploy in Hong Kong with

confidence," the spokesperson said.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) declined to comment.

Equinix's ( EQIX ) plan comes as global private equity investors,

asset managers and technology companies are readying for

billions of dollars worth of deals and investments linked to

data centres in Asia, as the artificial intelligence boom fuels

demand for digital infrastructure.

Equinix ( EQIX ) runs five data centres in Hong Kong, serving

hundreds of businesses from a wide range sectors, including more

than 200 cloud and IT services and over 105 network services,

its website showed.

Founded in 1998 in Silicon Valley, Equinix ( EQIX ) has expanded

globally and now owns around 260 data centres globally,

including nine markets in Asia Pacific, its website and 2023

annual report showed. Its top partners include AWS, Google Cloud

and Oracle.

The Nasdaq-listed company has a market value of $75.7

billion, according to LSEG data, and its shares are down 0.9% so

far this year.

In 2023, its net income rose to $968.98 million from $704.57

million a year ago, according to the annual report, while

revenue rose to $8.18 billion in from $7.26.