Columbia Capital Takes Minority Stake in MDC Data Centers to Fund U.S.-Mexico Expansion

• U.S. border capacity: Additional buildout at MDC's border data centers to meet customer demand across its footprint in McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Nogales, and San Diego.
• Mexico interconnection hub: Development of a previously announced interconnection hub in Querétaro to support traffic and network growth inside central Mexico.
• Cable landing hubs: Development of cable landing hubs in Cancún and Veracruz. MDC has been selected as the neutral landing partner for the MANTA submarine cable system at those sites.
• Brownsville development: MDC also lists an interconnection hub in Brownsville, Texas, among its facilities in development.

MDC will remain founder-controlled. Juan Salazar continues as majority owner and CEO and the company's management team and operating model are unchanged. Columbia Capital will appoint two directors to MDC's board: Patrick Hendy, a partner at Columbia Capital, and Bill Cook, founder and former CEO of Summit IG and current chairman of several fiber and interconnection companies.

MDC positions itself as a neutral interconnection provider along the U.S.-Mexico corridor. It currently operates eight data centers and nine border crossings connecting more than sixty networks. The company promotes an "Actively Neutral™" operating stance, aimed at serving as a neutral partner for networks seeking routes into and out of Mexico rather than acting as a competitive operator.

Why this matters for cross-border connectivity

The investment targets choke points at the physical border and inside Mexico where capacity and neutral interconnection can speed routes for networks and carriers. MDC's selection as neutral landing partner for the MANTA subsea cable system anchors its role in handling international subsea capacity into Mexico at Cancún and Veracruz. Building an interconnection hub in Querétaro addresses demand in central Mexico, a growing market for enterprise and cloud connectivity.

MDC's existing platform includes eight operating data centers and nine border crossings across key U.S.-Mexico border cities. The company reports connections to more than sixty networks, which it uses to justify its neutral-market positioning and to explain customer demand for expanded capacity and new hubs.

Juan Salazar framed the investment as a way to meet customer-driven demand across border and Mexican markets while maintaining MDC's neutral stance. Columbia Capital described MDC's footprint and customer trust as difficult to replicate and said it will back the company's next growth phase.

Practical implications for customers and partners

For network operators and carriers, the deal signals potential new capacity and more neutral interconnection options at several border crossings and in central and coastal Mexican hubs. For investors and infrastructure partners, Columbia Capital's involvement brings governance representation and growth capital without displacing MDC's founder control or existing management.

• Progress on the Querétaro interconnection hub and the Brownsville hub under development.
• Construction and activation of Cancún and Veracruz cable landing facilities tied to the MANTA subsea cable.
• Any further partnerships or anchor tenants that commit capacity in MDC's expanded facilities.

This minority investment provides capital to scale MDC's cross-border interconnection footprint while keeping the company founder-led and committed to a neutral operating model. The immediate focus is on adding capacity at border sites and bringing new interconnection and subsea landing facilities online in Mexico.