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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM
10-K
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from ___________ to
____________
Commission File Number: 001-35789
CyrusOne Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Maryland |
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46-0691837 |
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.) |
2850 N. Harwood Street, Suite 2200, Dallas, TX 75201
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(972) 350-0060
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Act:
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Title of Each Class |
Trading Symbol |
Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered |
Common Stock, $.01 par value |
CONE |
The NASDAQ Global Select Market |
1.450% Senior Notes due 2027 |
CONE27 |
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act:
None.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned
issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities
Act.
Yes ý No
¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file
reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
Act.
Yes ¨ No
ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed
all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file
such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90
days.
Yes
ý No
¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted
electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted
pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter)
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to submit such
files).
Yes ý No
¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large
accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a
smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the
definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”,
“smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Large Accelerated Filer |
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Accelerated filer
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Non-accelerated filer |
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Smaller reporting company
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Emerging growth company
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the
registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period
for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange
Act.
¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on
and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section
404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the
registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit
report.
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company
(as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
Yes ☐ No
ý
The aggregate market value of the Common Stock owned by
non-affiliates on June 30, 2021, was $8.9 billion, computed by
reference to the closing sale price of the Common Stock on the
NASDAQ Global Select Market on such date.
There were 129,563,290 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of
February 11, 2022.
An amendment to this Form 10-K will be filed no later than 120 days
after the close of registrant’s fiscal year with respect to the
information to be included in Part III of this report to the extent
described herein.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context requires
otherwise, all references in this report to “we,” “us,” “our,” “our
Company” or “the Company” refer to CyrusOne Inc., a Maryland
corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including
CyrusOne LP, a Maryland limited partnership. Unless otherwise
indicated or unless the context requires otherwise, all references
to “our operating partnership” or “the operating partnership” refer
to CyrusOne LP together with its consolidated
subsidiaries.
CyrusOne Inc. is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, whose
only material asset is its ownership of operating partnership units
of CyrusOne LP. CyrusOne Inc. does not conduct business itself,
other than acting as the sole beneficial owner and trustee of
CyrusOne GP, a Maryland statutory trust, issuing public equity from
time to time and guaranteeing certain debt of CyrusOne LP and
certain of its subsidiaries. CyrusOne Inc., directly or indirectly,
owns all of the issued and outstanding operating partnership units
of CyrusOne LP as of December 31, 2021, except for de minimis
holdings by certain officers and employees of the Company of LTIP
Units (as described below) in CyrusOne LP as a result of awards
granted under the LTIP (as defined below), and has the full,
exclusive and complete responsibility for the operating
partnership's day-to-day management and control. Effective February
1, 2021, the Company reorganized CyrusOne LP to classify the
partnership as a regarded entity under the provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). See Part I,
Item 1A "Risk Factors-Risks Related to Our Organization Structure"
of this Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Form 10-K") for more
information. CyrusOne Inc. itself does not issue any indebtedness
but guarantees the debt of CyrusOne LP and certain of its
subsidiaries, as disclosed in this report. CyrusOne LP and its
subsidiaries hold substantially all the assets of the Company.
CyrusOne LP conducts the operations of the business, along with its
subsidiaries, and is structured as a partnership with no publicly
traded equity. Except for net proceeds from public equity issuances
by CyrusOne Inc., which are generally contributed to CyrusOne LP in
exchange for operating partnership units, CyrusOne LP generates the
capital required for the Company's business through CyrusOne LP's
operations and incurrence of indebtedness.
As of December 31, 2021, the total number of outstanding
shares of our common stock was approximately 129.6
million.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PART I |
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ITEM 1. |
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ITEM 1A. |
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ITEM 2. |
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ITEM 3. |
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PART II |
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ITEM 6. |
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ITEM 7. |
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ITEM 7A. |
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ITEM 8. |
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ITEM 9. |
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ITEM 9A. |
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ITEM 9B. |
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ITEM 9C. |
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PART III |
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ITEM 10. |
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ITEM 11. |
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ITEM 12. |
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ITEM 13. |
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ITEM 14. |
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PART IV |
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ITEM 15. |
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ITEM 16. |
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Form 10-K, together with other statements and information
publicly disseminated by our company, contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"). We intend such forward-looking statements to be
covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking
statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 and include this statement for purposes of complying
with these safe harbor provisions.
In particular, statements pertaining to our capital resources,
portfolio performance, financial condition and results of
operations contain certain forward-looking statements. Likewise,
all of our statements regarding anticipated growth in our funds
from operations and anticipated market conditions, demographics and
results of operations are forward-looking statements. You can
identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,”
“seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or
“anticipates” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar
words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events
or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You
can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of
strategy, plans or intentions.
Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties
and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events.
Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods
that may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to
realize them. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
anticipated, estimated or projected.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and
future events to differ materially from those set forth or
contemplated in the forward-looking statements:
•risks
related to our proposed merger with Parent (as defined below),
including but not limited to that the merger may not be completed
in a timely manner or at all and the failure to realize the
anticipated benefits of the proposed merger;
•risks
related to the asset purchase agreement for the disposition of
substantially all of the assets exclusively related to our for
facilities in the Houston area, including but not limited to that
the asset purchase may not be completed in a timely manner or at
all and the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the
asset purchase;
•the
merger or asset purchase diverting management’s attention from the
Company’s ongoing business operations;
•the
potential widespread and highly uncertain impact of public health
outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, such as the COVID-19
pandemic;
•loss
of key customers;
•indemnification
and liability provisions as well as service level commitments in
our contracts with customers imposing
significant costs on us in the event of
losses;
•economic
downturn, natural disaster or oversupply of data centers in the
limited geographic areas that we serve;
•risks
related to the development of our properties including, without
limitation, obtaining applicable permits, power and connectivity,
and our ability to successfully lease those
properties;
•weakening
in the fundamentals for data center real estate, including but not
limited to increased competition, falling market rents, decreases
in or slowed growth of global data, e-commerce and demand for
outsourcing of data storage and cloud-based
applications;
•loss
of access to key third-party service providers and
suppliers;
•risks
of loss of power or cooling which may interrupt our services to our
customers;
•inability
to identify and complete acquisitions and operate acquired
properties;
•our
failure to obtain necessary outside financing on favorable terms,
or at all;
•restrictions
in the instruments governing our indebtedness;
•risks
related to environmental, social and governance
matters;
•unknown
or contingent liabilities related to our acquisitions;
•significant
competition in our industry;
•recent
turnover, or the further loss of, any of our key
personnel;
•risks
associated with real estate assets and the industry;
•failure
to maintain our status as a REIT or to comply with the highly
technical and complex REIT provisions of the Code;
•REIT
distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to
execute our business plan;
•insufficient
cash available for distribution to stockholders;
•future
offerings of debt may adversely affect the market price of our
common stock;
•increases
in market interest rates will increase our borrowing costs and may
drive potential investors to seek higher dividend yields and reduce
demand for our common stock;
•market
price and volume of stock could be volatile;
•risks
related to regulatory changes impacting our customers and demand
for colocation space in particular geographies;
•our
international activities, including those conducted as a result of
land acquisitions and with respect to leased land and buildings,
are subject to special risks different from those faced by us in
the United States;
•expanded
and widened price increases in certain selective materials for data
center development capital expenditures due to international trade
negotiations;
•failure
to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations;
•legislative
or other actions relating to taxes;
•any
significant security breach or cyber-attack on us or our key
partners or customers;
•the
ongoing trade conflict between the United States and the People's
Republic of China ("PRC");
•increased
operating costs and capital expenditures at our facilities,
including those resulting from higher utilization by our customers,
general market conditions and inflation, exceeding revenue growth;
and
•other
factors affecting the real estate and technology industries
generally.
While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs,
they are not guarantees of future performance. For a further
discussion of these and other factors that could impact our future
results, performance or transactions, see Part I, Item 1A “Risk
Factors” of this Form 10-K. Given these risks and uncertainties,
investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements as a prediction of actual results. We disclaim any
obligation other than as required by law to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in
underlying assumptions or factors or for new information, data or
methods, future events or other changes.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The Company
We are a fully integrated, self-managed data center real estate
investment trust ("REIT") that owns, operates and develops
enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, multi-tenant and single-tenant
data center properties. Founded in 2001, CyrusOne Inc. successfully
completed an initial public offering and began trading on the
NASDAQ Exchange on January 18, 2013. Our data centers are generally
purpose-built facilities with redundant power and cooling. They are
not network specific and enable customer connectivity to a range of
telecommunication carriers. We design, build, and operate
facilities across the United States and Europe that give customers
the flexibility and scale to match their specific growth needs.
CyrusOne specializes in highly reliable enterprise data center
colocation, engineering facilities with the highest power
redundancy (i.e., "distributed redundant" architecture and in some
cases "2N architecture") and power-density infrastructure required
to deliver excellent availability. For a discussion of the risks to
us posed by COVID-19 as well as its effects on our business, see
Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K.
Our strategy is focused on hyperscale cloud based providers and
enterprises, including existing customers we believe have
significant data center infrastructure needs that have not yet been
outsourced or will require additional data center space and power
to support their growth and their increasing reliance on technology
infrastructure in their operations. We believe our capabilities and
reputation for serving the needs of large hyperscale providers and
enterprises will continue to enable us to capitalize on the growing
demand for outsourced data center facilities in our markets and in
new markets where our customers are located or plan to be located
in the future.
As previously announced, on November 14, 2021, the Company entered
into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Calvary Parent L.P. and
Cavalry Merger Sub LLC. See Part II, Item 7—Overview—"Pending
Acquisition by KKR and GIP" of this Form 10-K.
The following diagram depicts our ownership structure as of
December 31, 2021:
Our Business
We provide mission-critical data center real estate assets that
protect and ensure the continued operation of information
technology ("IT") infrastructure for our customers. We provide
twenty-four hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week security guard
monitoring with customizable security features. Our goal is to be
the preferred global data center provider to hyperscale cloud
companies and to the global Fortune 1000 enterprises. Currently,
CyrusOne customers include 190 of the Fortune 1000 companies as
well as ten of the Fortune 20 or private or foreign enterprises of
equivalent size, together representing approximately 80% of our
annualized rent as of December 31, 2021. See Our Portfolio
discussion for the definition of annualized rent.
Data centers are highly specialized and secure real estate assets
that serve as centralized deployments of server, storage and
network equipment. They are designed to provide the space, power,
cooling and network connectivity necessary to efficiently operate
mission-critical IT equipment. Telecommunications carriers
typically provide network access into a data center through optical
fiber. The demand for data center infrastructure is being driven by
many factors, but most importantly by significant growth in data
and increased demand for data processing and storage
infrastructure. The market for data center facilities includes
cloud-centric companies with sophisticated technology requirements,
as well as established “traditional” enterprises that are
web-enabling their applications and business
processes.
We cultivate long-term strategic relationships with our customers
and provide them with solutions for their data center facilities
and IT infrastructure challenges. The Company provides high-quality
colocation with robust connectivity and the flexibility for
customers to scale for future growth. Our offerings provide
flexibility, reliability and security delivered through a tailored,
customer service-focused platform that is designed to foster
long-term relationships. We focus on technology and large cloud
computing customers that are expanding their data needs rapidly in
the public and private cloud environments to provide them with
solutions that address their current and future needs. Our
facilities and construction design allow us to offer flexibility in
density and power resiliency, and the opportunity for expansion as
our customers' needs grow. The Company's network of 56 owned or
leased data centers and investments with other colocation
providers, enable us to provide our customers with solutions in the
United States and Europe. The platform enables high-performance,
low-cost data transfer and accessibility for
customers.
As a full-service provider of data center solutions, our primary
revenue sources consist of colocation rent and power reimbursements
from the lease of our data centers. We also have revenue from
services or products we provide to our customers including managed
services, equipment sales, installation and other services.
Colocation leases may include all or portions of a data center,
where customers may also lease office space to support their
colocation operations where revenue is primarily based on power
usage as well as square footage.
Our Competitive Strengths
Our ability to attract and retain the world’s largest customers is
attributed to the following competitive strengths, which
distinguish us from other data center operators and enable us to
continue to grow our operations.
High Quality Customer Base.
The high quality of our assets, combined with our reputation for
serving the needs of large enterprises and cloud companies, has
enabled us to focus on the Fortune 1000, or other companies of
equivalent size, to build a quality customer base. We currently
have approximately 1,000 customers from a broad spectrum of
industries. Our revenue is generated by an enterprise customer
base, as evidenced by the fact that as of December 31, 2021,
80% of our annualized rent comes from 190 of the Fortune 1000
companies as well as ten of the Fortune 20 or private or foreign
enterprises of equivalent size. We serve a diversity of industries,
including information technology, financial services, energy, oil
and gas, mining, medical, research and consulting services, and
consumer goods and services.
Microsoft Corporation represented 19% of our total revenue for the
year ended December 31, 2021 and 20% of our annualized rent as
of December 31, 2021.
Strategically Located Portfolio.
Our portfolio is located in several domestic and international
markets possessing attractive characteristics for
enterprise-focused data center operations. We have domestic
properties in seven of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.
(Northern Virginia, New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, San
Antonio and Dallas) and five of the largest metropolitan areas for
Fortune 500 headquarters (New York, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and
Santa Clara). We also have ten properties in international markets
including four in London, United Kingdom, three in Frankfurt,
Germany, one in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, one in Dublin, the
Republic of Ireland and one in Paris, France. We have data centers
under construction in Santa Clara, California, Dublin, the Republic
of Ireland, Frankfurt, Germany, London, United Kingdom and Paris,
France. We believe cities with large populations or a large number
of corporate headquarters are likely to produce incremental demand
for
IT infrastructure. In addition, being located close to our current
and potential customers provides chief information officers
("CIOs") with additional confidence when outsourcing their data
center infrastructure to us.
Modern, High Quality, Flexible Facilities.
Our portfolio includes highly efficient, reliable facilities with
flexibility to customize customer solutions and accessibility to
hundreds of connectivity providers. To optimize the delivery of
power, our properties include modern engineering technologies
designed to minimize unnecessary power usage and, in our newest
facilities, we are able to provide power utilization efficiency
ratios that we believe to be among the best in the multi-tenant
data center industry. Fortune 1000 CIOs are frequently dividing
their application stacks into various groups as some applications
require 100% availability, while others may require significant
power to support complex computing, or robust connectivity. Our
facility design enables us to deliver different power densities and
resiliencies to the same customer footprint, allowing customers to
tailor solutions to meet their application needs. In addition, the
National IX Platform and other connectivity solutions, discussed
below, provide access to hundreds of telecommunication and Internet
carriers.
Massively Modular®
Construction Methods.
Our Massively Modular®
data center design principles allow us to efficiently stage
construction on a large scale and deliver critical power and
colocation square feet (CSF) in a timeframe that we believe is one
of the best in the industry. We acquire or build a large powered
shell capable of scaling with our customers’ power and colocation
space needs. Once the building shell is ready, we can build
individual data center halls in portions of the building space to
meet the needs of customers on a modular basis. This modular data
center hall construction typically can be completed in 12 to 16
weeks to meet our customers’ immediate needs. This short
construction timeframe ensures a very high utilization of the
assets and minimizes the time between our capital investment and
the recognition of customer revenue, favorably impacting our return
on investment while also translating into lower costs for our
customers. Our design principles also allow us to add incremental
equipment to increase power densities as our customers’ power needs
increase, which provides our customers with a significant amount of
flexibility to manage their IT demands. We believe this Massively
Modular®
approach allows us to respond to rapidly evolving customer needs
and to commit capital toward the highest return
projects.
Significant Leasing Capability.
Our focus on the customer, our ability to scale with their needs,
and our operational excellence provide us with embedded future
growth from our customer base. During 2021, we signed new leases
representing $217.1 million in annualized revenue, with
previously existing customers accounting for approximately 96% of
this amount. Since December 31, 2020, we have increased our
CSF by approximately 428,904 square feet or 9%, while maintaining a
high percentage of CSF utilized of 83% and 84% as of
December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Significant, Attractive Expansion Opportunities.
As of December 31, 2021, we had 1.7 million gross square feet
(GSF) of powered shell available for future development and
approximately 505 acres of land that are available for future data
center facility development, consisting of 427 acres in U.S.
markets and 78 acres in Europe. The powered shell available for
future development in locations that are part of our portfolio
consist of approximately 609,000 GSF in the Northeast
(Raleigh-Durham, Northern Virginia and New York Metro), 403,000 GSF
in the Southwest (Texas and Phoenix), 229,000 GSF in the Midwest
(Chicago, Cincinnati and Iowa) and 494,000 GSF in our international
markets (London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris). Our
current development properties and available acreage were selected
based on extensive site selection criteria and the collective
industry knowledge and experience of our management team, with a
focus on markets with a strong presence of and high demand by
Fortune 1000 companies and providers of cloud services. As a
result, we believe that our development portfolio contains
properties that are located in markets with attractive supply and
demand conditions and that possess suitable physical
characteristics to support data center infrastructure.
Differentiated Reputation for Service.
We believe that the decision CIOs make to outsource their data
center infrastructure has material implications for their
businesses and, as such, CIOs look to third-party data center
providers that have a reputation for serving similar organizations
and that are able to deliver a customized solution. We take a
consultative approach to understanding the unique requirements of
our customers, and our design principles allow us to deliver a
customized data center solution to match their needs. We believe
that this approach has helped fuel our growth. Our current
customers are also often the source of new contracts, with
referrals being an important source of new customers.
Experienced Management Team.
Our management team is comprised of individuals drawing on diverse
knowledge and skill sets acquired through extensive experiences in
the real estate, REITs, telecommunications, technology and
mission-critical infrastructure industries.
Balance Sheet Positioned to Fund Continued
Growth.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $1,851.2 million in available
liquidity, including $1,391.6 million in borrowing capacity under
our Amended Credit Agreement. The Amended Credit Agreement consists
of a $1.4 billion revolving credit facility ("Revolving Credit
Facility"), which includes a $750.0 million multicurrency borrowing
sublimit, a 3-year term loan with commitments totaling $400.0
million ("2023 Term Loan Facility") and a $700.0 million 5-year
term loan ("2025 Term Loan Facility") (collectively, the "Amended
Credit Agreement"). The Amended Credit Agreement also includes an
accordion feature providing for an aggregate increase in the
revolving and term
loan components to $4.0 billion, subject to certain conditions. We
believe that we are appropriately capitalized with sufficient
financial flexibility and capacity to fund our anticipated growth.
See Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K for a discussion of our
short-term liquidity.
Experienced Sales Force with Partner Channel.
We have an experienced sales force with a particular expertise in
selling to large enterprises and providers of cloud services, which
can require extensive consultation and drive long sales cycles as
these enterprises make the initial outsourcing decision. As of
December 31, 2021, we had 51 sales-related employees. We
believe the depth, knowledge, and experience of our sales team
differentiates us from other data center companies, and we are not
as dependent on brokers to identify and acquire customers as some
other companies in the industry. To complement our direct sales
efforts, we have developed a robust network of partners, including
value added resellers, systems integrators and hosting
providers.
Business and Growth Strategies
Our objective is to grow our revenue and earnings, and maximize
stockholder returns and cash flow, by continuing to expand our data
center infrastructure outsourcing business.
Increasing Revenue from Existing Customers and
Properties.
We have historically generated a significant portion of our revenue
growth from our existing customers, with previously existing
customers accounting for approximately 96%, 94% and 75% of
annualized revenue from new leases during 2021, 2020 and 2019,
respectively. We will continue to target our existing customers
because we believe that many have significant data center
infrastructure needs that have not yet been outsourced, and many
will require additional data center space and power to support
their growth and their increasing reliance on technology
infrastructure in their operations. To address new demand, as of
December 31, 2021, we have approximately 1.6 million GSF
currently available for lease. We also have approximately 1.4
million GSF under development, as well as 1.7 million GSF of
additional powered shell space under roof available for future
development and approximately 505 acres of land that are available
for future data center facility development.
Attracting and Retaining New Customers.
Increasingly, enterprises are beginning to recognize the
complexities of managing data center infrastructure in the midst of
digitalization and rapid technological development and innovation.
We believe that these complexities, brought about by the rapidly
increasing levels of Internet traffic and data, private and public
cloud adoption, obsolete existing corporate data center
infrastructure, increased power and cooling requirements and
increased regulatory requirements, are all driving the need for
companies to outsource their data center facility requirements.
Consequently, this will significantly increase the percentage of
companies that use third-party data center colocation services over
the next several years. We believe that our high-quality assets and
reputation for serving cloud providers and large enterprises have
been, and will be, key differentiators for us in attracting
customers that are outsourcing their data center infrastructure
needs.
We acquire customers through a variety of channels. We have
historically managed our sales process through a
direct-to-the-customer model but also utilize third-party leasing
agents and indirect leasing channels to expand our universe of
potential new customers. Over the past few years, we have developed
a network of partners in our indirect leasing channels, including
value added resellers, systems integrators and hosting providers.
These channels, in combination with our marketing strategies, have
enabled us to build both a strong brand and outreach program to new
customers. Throughout the life cycle of a customer’s lease with us,
we maintain a disciplined approach to monitoring their experience,
with the goal of providing the highest level of customer service.
This personal attention fosters a strong relationship and trust
with our customers, which lead to future growth and leasing
renewals.
Expanding into New Markets.
Our expansion strategy focuses on acquiring and developing new data
centers, both domestically and internationally, in markets where
our customers are located and in markets with a strong presence of
and high demand by Fortune 1000 customers and providers of cloud
services. We conduct extensive analysis to ensure an identified
market displays strong data center fundamentals, independent of the
demand presented by any particular customer. In addition, we
consider markets where our existing customers want us to be
located. We regularly communicate with our customers to understand
their business strategies and potential data center needs. We
believe that this approach, combined with our Massively
Modular®
construction design, reduces the risk associated with expansion
into new markets because it provides strong visibility into our
leasing opportunities and helps to ensure targeted returns on new
developments. When considering a new market, we take a disciplined
approach in evaluating potential business, property and site
acquisitions, including a site’s geographic attributes,
availability of telecommunications and connectivity providers,
access to power, and expected costs for development.
Growing Interconnection Business.
Our National IX Platform and other connectivity solutions deliver
interconnection across states and between metro-enabled sites
within the CyrusOne facility footprint and beyond. The National IX
Platform enables high-performance, low-cost data transfer and
accessibility for our customers seeking to connect between CyrusOne
facilities, from CyrusOne to their own private data center
facility, or with one another via private peering, cross connects
and/or public switching environments. Interconnection within a
facility or on the National IX Platform and other connectivity
solutions allow
our customers to share information and conduct commerce in a highly
efficient manner not requiring a third-party intermediary, and at a
fraction of the cost normally required to establish such a
connection between two enterprises. The demand for interconnection
creates additional rental and revenue growth opportunities for us,
and we believe that customer interconnections increase our
likelihood of customer retention by providing an environment not
easily replicated by competitors. We act as a trusted neutral party
that enterprises, carriers and content companies utilize to connect
to each other.
Sustainability
At CyrusOne, we recognize that building and operating large data
centers leads to a geographic concentration of environmental
impacts, even if the total impact is reduced compared to
inefficiencies of smaller data rooms. Being a leader in this
industry means embracing our responsibility for reducing those
impacts. In 2021, we allocated €500.0 million in net proceeds from
our inaugural green bond offering for future investment in green
buildings and energy efficiency projects.
We approach our sustainability mission in three ways:
1.Sustainable
Future: We build data centers that are compatible with a
sustainable future. We cannot just build a data center to meet
today’s challenges; we need to build it with the future in
mind.
2.Energy
and Water Conservation: We are committed to conserving both energy
and water through the effective design, maintenance, and operation
of our facilities. We cannot just trade water for energy and ignore
its impact.
3.Strategic
Partners: We collaborate strategically with our customers to move
their sustainability goals forward. Our customers have some of the
most ambitious sustainability goals of any industry, so the best
thing we can do for the environment is to help them
succeed.
Priorities for strategy and materiality for sustainability
reporting are two sides of the same coin. We use a unified process
to identify where we have the biggest sustainability impacts and
where we should therefore focus our improvements. Please see our
CyrusOne Sustainability Report 2021 which is available on our
website at http://www.cyrusone.com. The content of our website and
sustainability report is not incorporated by reference into this
Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the
SEC.
Our Portfolio
We operate 56 data centers, including one recovery center, totaling
8.6 million GSF, of which 83% of the CSF is leased and has 984
megawatts ("MW") of power capacity. This includes 12 buildings
where we lease such facilities. We are lessee of approximately 11%
of our total GSF as of December 31, 2021. Also included
in our total GSF, CSF and MW are pre-stabilized assets (which
include data halls that have been in service for less than 24
months and are less than 85% leased) that have approximately
400,090 GSF and 34% of the CSF is leased with capacity of 43 MW of
power.
In addition, we have properties under development comprising
approximately 1.4 million GSF and 149 MW of power capacity. The
estimated remaining total costs to develop these properties is
projected to be between $643.0 million and
$730.0 million. The increase over the prior year is primarily
due to developments in Chicago, Houston and London. The final costs
to develop are likely to change depending on several factors
including the customer capital improvements required based on the
future lease contracts executed on such properties. We also
have 505 acres of land available for future data center
development. The following tables provide an overview of our
operating and development properties as of December 31,
2021.
CyrusOne Inc.
Data Center Portfolio
As of December 31, 2021
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross Square Feet (GSF)(a)
|
Powered
Shell
Available
for Future
Development
(GSF)(k)
(000)
|
Available Critical Load Capacity
(MW)(l)
|
Stabilized Properties(b)
|
Metro
Area |
Annualized Rent(c)
($000)
|
Colocation Space (CSF)(d)
(000)
|
CSF Occupied(e)
|
CSF
Leased(f)
|
Office & Other(g)
(000)
|
Office & Other Occupied(h)
|
Supporting
Infrastructure(i)
(000)
|
Total(j)
(000)
|
Dallas - Carrollton |
Dallas |
$ |
97,792 |
|
428 |
|
77 |
% |
77 |
% |
83 |
|
47 |
% |
133 |
|
644 |
|
— |
|
60 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling V |
Northern Virginia |
73,518 |
|
383 |
|
99 |
% |
99 |
% |
11 |
|
100 |
% |
145 |
|
539 |
|
231 |
|
69 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling VI |
Northern Virginia |
66,641 |
|
272 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
35 |
|
— |
% |
— |
|
307 |
|
— |
|
57 |
|
Frankfurt II |
Frankfurt |
52,169 |
|
90 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
9 |
|
100 |
% |
72 |
|
171 |
|
10 |
|
35 |
|
Frankfurt III |
Frankfurt |
48,541 |
|
124 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
19 |
|
100 |
% |
115 |
|
258 |
|
— |
|
44 |
|
Somerset I |
New York Metro |
43,880 |
|
169 |
|
91 |
% |
91 |
% |
27 |
|
100 |
% |
149 |
|
344 |
|
28 |
|
25 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling II |
Northern Virginia |
43,520 |
|
159 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
9 |
|
100 |
% |
55 |
|
223 |
|
— |
|
30 |
|
San Antonio III |
San Antonio |
34,707 |
|
132 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
9 |
|
100 |
% |
43 |
|
184 |
|
— |
|
24 |
|
London II* |
London |
30,796 |
|
81 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
10 |
|
100 |
% |
94 |
|
184 |
|
— |
|
28 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler VI |
Phoenix |
30,170 |
|
148 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
7 |
|
100 |
% |
32 |
|
187 |
|
59 |
|
24 |
|
Chicago - Aurora I |
Chicago |
29,515 |
|
113 |
|
98 |
% |
98 |
% |
34 |
|
100 |
% |
223 |
|
371 |
|
27 |
|
52 |
|
Frankfurt I |
Frankfurt |
27,937 |
|
53 |
|
97 |
% |
97 |
% |
8 |
|
91 |
% |
57 |
|
118 |
|
— |
|
18 |
|
Dallas - Lewisville* |
Dallas |
27,127 |
|
114 |
|
74 |
% |
79 |
% |
11 |
|
57 |
% |
54 |
|
180 |
|
— |
|
21 |
|
Cincinnati - North Cincinnati |
Cincinnati |
26,980 |
|
68 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
45 |
|
80 |
% |
53 |
|
166 |
|
59 |
|
14 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler V |
Phoenix |
26,018 |
|
143 |
|
95 |
% |
99 |
% |
2 |
|
97 |
% |
25 |
|
170 |
|
13 |
|
27 |
|
Cincinnati - 7th Street*** |
Cincinnati |
24,546 |
|
197 |
|
47 |
% |
47 |
% |
6 |
|
68 |
% |
175 |
|
378 |
|
46 |
|
17 |
|
Totowa - Madison** |
New York Metro |
23,612 |
|
51 |
|
74 |
% |
74 |
% |
22 |
|
89 |
% |
59 |
|
133 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler I |
Phoenix |
22,312 |
|
74 |
|
99 |
% |
99 |
% |
35 |
|
11 |
% |
39 |
|
147 |
|
31 |
|
12 |
|
Austin III |
Austin |
21,809 |
|
62 |
|
59 |
% |
59 |
% |
15 |
|
96 |
% |
21 |
|
98 |
|
67 |
|
11 |
|
Raleigh-Durham I |
Raleigh-Durham |
21,223 |
|
94 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
16 |
|
100 |
% |
82 |
|
192 |
|
235 |
|
14 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler II |
Phoenix |
21,078 |
|
74 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
6 |
|
53 |
% |
26 |
|
105 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Houston - Houston West II |
Houston |
20,743 |
|
80 |
|
67 |
% |
67 |
% |
4 |
|
97 |
% |
55 |
|
139 |
|
11 |
|
12 |
|
London I* |
London |
20,117 |
|
46 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
12 |
|
56 |
% |
58 |
|
115 |
|
— |
|
17 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling III |
Northern Virginia |
19,913 |
|
79 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
7 |
|
100 |
% |
34 |
|
120 |
|
— |
|
15 |
|
San Antonio I |
San Antonio |
19,665 |
|
44 |
|
98 |
% |
98 |
% |
6 |
|
83 |
% |
46 |
|
96 |
|
11 |
|
12 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler III |
Phoenix |
19,400 |
|
68 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
2 |
|
— |
% |
30 |
|
101 |
|
— |
|
18 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling IV |
Northern Virginia |
18,713 |
|
81 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
7 |
|
100 |
% |
34 |
|
122 |
|
— |
|
15 |
|
Houston - Houston West I |
Houston |
18,478 |
|
112 |
|
48 |
% |
48 |
% |
11 |
|
100 |
% |
37 |
|
161 |
|
3 |
|
32 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling I |
Northern Virginia |
17,694 |
|
78 |
|
89 |
% |
89 |
% |
6 |
|
63 |
% |
49 |
|
132 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
San Antonio II |
San Antonio |
17,339 |
|
64 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
11 |
|
100 |
% |
41 |
|
117 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
San Antonio V |
San Antonio |
17,097 |
|
134 |
|
90 |
% |
90 |
% |
14 |
|
100 |
% |
38 |
|
187 |
|
1 |
|
21 |
|
Wappingers Falls I** |
New York Metro |
16,833 |
|
37 |
|
62 |
% |
62 |
% |
20 |
|
86 |
% |
15 |
|
72 |
|
— |
|
7 |
|
London III* |
London |
16,255 |
|
39 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
4 |
|
100 |
% |
49 |
|
91 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Austin II |
Austin |
14,815 |
|
44 |
|
81 |
% |
81 |
% |
2 |
|
81 |
% |
22 |
|
68 |
|
— |
|
6 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling IX |
Northern Virginia |
13,313 |
|
91 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
8 |
|
100 |
% |
2 |
|
101 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
San Antonio IV |
San Antonio |
13,059 |
|
60 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
12 |
|
100 |
% |
27 |
|
99 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler IV |
Phoenix |
12,978 |
|
73 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
3 |
|
100 |
% |
27 |
|
103 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Florence |
Cincinnati |
11,445 |
|
53 |
|
99 |
% |
99 |
% |
47 |
|
87 |
% |
40 |
|
140 |
|
— |
|
9 |
|
Dublin |
Dublin |
9,703 |
|
76 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
10 |
|
100 |
% |
33 |
|
119 |
|
76 |
|
12 |
|
Chicago - Aurora II (DH #1) |
Chicago |
9,655 |
|
77 |
|
60 |
% |
60 |
% |
45 |
|
2 |
% |
14 |
|
136 |
|
27 |
|
16 |
|
Houston - Galleria |
Houston |
9,250 |
|
63 |
|
37 |
% |
37 |
% |
23 |
|
21 |
% |
25 |
|
112 |
|
— |
|
11 |
|
Cincinnati - Hamilton* |
Cincinnati |
9,196 |
|
47 |
|
65 |
% |
65 |
% |
1 |
|
100 |
% |
35 |
|
83 |
|
— |
|
9 |
|
Houston - Houston West III |
Houston |
8,851 |
|
53 |
|
50 |
% |
50 |
% |
10 |
|
13 |
% |
32 |
|
95 |
|
2 |
|
6 |
|
Norwalk I** |
New York Metro |
7,337 |
|
17 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
10 |
|
100 |
% |
41 |
|
68 |
|
83 |
|
6 |
|
London - Great Bridgewater** |
London |
6,357 |
|
10 |
|
91 |
% |
91 |
% |
— |
|
— |
% |
1 |
|
11 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CyrusOne Inc. |
Data Center Portfolio |
As of December 31, 2021
|
(Unaudited) |
|
|
|
Gross Square Feet (GSF)(a)
|
Powered
Shell
Available
for Future
Development
(GSF)(k)
(000)
|
Available Critical Load Capacity
(MW)(l)
|
Stabilized Properties(b)
|
Metro
Area |
Annualized Rent(c)
($000)
|
Colocation Space (CSF)(d)
(000)
|
CSF Occupied(e)
|
CSF
Leased(f)
|
Office & Other(g)
(000)
|
Office & Other Occupied(h)
|
Supporting
Infrastructure(i)
(000)
|
Total(j)
(000)
|
Paris I |
Paris |
$ |
5,706 |
|
26 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
4 |
|
100 |
% |
15 |
|
45 |
|
201 |
|
6 |
|
Dallas - Allen (DH #1) |
Dallas |
5,365 |
|
79 |
|
24 |
% |
24 |
% |
— |
|
— |
% |
58 |
|
137 |
|
204 |
|
6 |
|
Stamford - Riverbend** |
New York Metro |
4,961 |
|
20 |
|
22 |
% |
22 |
% |
— |
|
— |
% |
8 |
|
28 |
|
— |
|
5 |
|
Cincinnati - Mason |
Cincinnati |
4,701 |
|
34 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
26 |
|
98 |
% |
17 |
|
78 |
|
— |
|
4 |
|
Amsterdam I |
Amsterdam |
4,253 |
|
39 |
|
100 |
% |
100 |
% |
15 |
|
100 |
% |
40 |
|
94 |
|
207 |
|
4 |
|
Phoenix - Chandler VII |
Phoenix |
3,703 |
|
62 |
|
71 |
% |
71 |
% |
10 |
|
21 |
% |
38 |
|
110 |
|
— |
|
15 |
|
Chicago - Lombard |
Chicago |
2,381 |
|
14 |
|
50 |
% |
50 |
% |
4 |
|
79 |
% |
12 |
|
30 |
|
29 |
|
2 |
|
Totowa - Commerce** |
New York Metro |
811 |
|
— |
|
— |
% |
— |
% |
20 |
|
45 |
% |
6 |
|
26 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
Cincinnati - Blue Ash* |
Cincinnati |
435 |
|
6 |
|
36 |
% |
36 |
% |
7 |
|
100 |
% |
2 |
|
15 |
|
— |
|
1 |
|
Stabilized Properties - Total |
|
$ |
1,174,411 |
|
4,833 |
|
86 |
% |
86 |
% |
780 |
|
69 |
% |
2,632 |
|
8,246 |
|
1,661 |
|
941 |
|
Pre-Stabilized Properties(b) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling VIII |
Northern Virginia |
13,453 |
|
61 |
|
59 |
% |
59 |
% |
4 |
|
— |
% |
25 |
|
90 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
Northern Virginia - Sterling IX |
Northern Virginia |
6,380 |
|
104 |
|
43 |
% |
44 |
% |
1 |
|
— |
% |
68 |
|
173 |
|
32 |
|
21 |
|
Council Bluffs I |
Iowa |
2,085 |
|
42 |
|
12 |
% |
15 |
% |
14 |
|
— |
% |
18 |
|
73 |
|
42 |
|
5 |
|
Somerset (DH #12 and #13) |
New York Metro |
— |
|
54 |
|
— |
% |
— |
% |
9 |
|
— |
% |
— |
|
63 |
|
— |
|
5 |
|
All Properties - Total |
|
$ |
1,196,329 |
|
5,094 |
|
83 |
% |
83 |
% |
809 |
|
67 |
% |
2,743 |
|
8,646 |
|
1,736 |
|
984 |
|
* Indicates properties in which we hold a
leasehold interest in the building shell and land. All data center
infrastructure has been constructed by us and is owned by
us.
** Indicates properties in which we hold a
leasehold interest in the building shell, land, and all data center
infrastructure.
*** The information provided for the Cincinnati - 7th Street
property includes data for two facilities, one of which we lease
and one of which we own.
(a)Represents
the total square feet of a building under lease or available for
lease based on engineers' drawings and estimates but does not
include space held for development or space used by
CyrusOne.
(b)Stabilized
properties include data halls that have been in service for at
least 24 months or are at least 85% leased. Pre-stabilized
properties include data halls that have been in service for less
than 24 months and are less than 85% leased.
(c)Represents
monthly contractual rent (defined as cash rent including customer
reimbursements for metered power) under existing customer leases as
of December 31, 2021 multiplied by 12. For the month of
December 2021, customer reimbursements were $268.8 million
annualized and consisted of reimbursements by customers across all
facilities with separately metered power. Customer reimbursements
under leases with separately metered power vary from month-to-month
based on factors such as our customers' utilization of power and
the suppliers' pricing of power. From January 1, 2019 through
December 31, 2021, customer reimbursements under leases with
separately metered power constituted between 14.9% and 22.5% of
annualized rent. After giving effect to abatements, free rent and
other straight-line adjustments, our annualized effective rent as
of December 31, 2021 was $1,195.9 million. Our annualized
effective rent was lower than our annualized rent as of
December 31, 2021 because our negative straight-line and other
adjustments and amortization of deferred revenue exceeded our
positive straight-line adjustments due to factors such as the
timing of contractual rent escalations and customer payments for
services.
(d)CSF
represents the GSF at an operating facility that is currently
leased or readily available for lease as colocation space, where
customers locate their servers and other IT equipment.
(e)Percent
occupied is determined based on CSF billed to customers under
signed leases as of December 31, 2021 divided by total CSF.
Leases signed but that have not commenced billing as of
December 31, 2021 are not included.
(f)Percent
leased is calculated by dividing CSF under signed leases for
colocation space (whether or not the lease has commenced billing)
by total CSF.
(g)Represents
the GSF at an operating facility that is currently leased or
readily available for lease as space other than CSF, which is
typically office and other space.
(h)Percent
occupied is determined based on Office & Other space being
billed to customers under signed leases as of December 31,
2021 divided by total Office & Other space. Leases signed but
not commenced as of December 31, 2021 are not
included.
(i)Represents
infrastructure support space, including mechanical,
telecommunications and utility rooms, as well as building common
areas.
(j)Represents
the GSF at an operating facility that is currently leased or
readily available for lease. This excludes existing vacant space
held for development.
(k)Represents
space that is under roof that could be developed in the future for
GSF, rounded to the nearest 1,000.
(l)Critical
power capacity represents the gross aggregate of UPS power
installed and available to provide multiple redundancy levels for
lease and exclusive use by customers. Capacity is stated in
megawatts as represented by UPS manufacturer nameplate ratings and
does not include ancillary UPS capacity not configured for the
direct support of leased customer critical IT load (e.g. dedicated
office power, office disaster recovery UPS, or UPS utilized by
CyrusOne for infrastructure control circuits). The available
critical load capacity was restated for certain properties as
compared to our September 30, 2020 disclosure based on a
reconciliation performed for each property. Does not sum to total
due to rounding.
CyrusOne Inc.
GSF Under Development
As of December 31, 2021
(Dollars in millions)
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GSF Under Development(a)
|
|
Under Development Costs(b)
|
Facilities |
Metro Area |
Estimated Completion Date |
Colocation Space
(CSF) (000) |
Office & Other (000) |
Supporting
Infrastructure (000) |
Powered Shell(c)
(000)
|
Total (000) |
Critical Load MW Capacity(d)
|
Actual to
Date(e)
|
Estimated Costs to
Completion(f)
|
Total |
Houston West III |
Houston |
2Q'22 |
126 |
|
— |
|
80 |
|
— |
|
207 |
|
42.0 |
|
$6 |
$122-136 |
$128-142 |
Aurora II |
Chicago |
2Q'22 |
165 |
|
— |
|
80 |
|
— |
|
245 |
|
42.0 |
|
6 |
|
137-151 |
143-157 |
Chandler VII |
Phoenix |
2Q'22 |
82 |
|
14 |
|
22 |
|
— |
|
117 |
|
25.5 |
|
1 |
|
86-96 |
87-97 |
San Antonio VI |
Texas |
4Q'22 |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
125 |
|
125 |
|
— |
|
— |
|
21-24 |
21-24 |
Sterling X |
Northern Virginia |
2Q'22 |
— |
|
— |
|
— |
|
225 |
|
225 |
|
— |
|
12 |
|
30-36 |
42-48 |
London IV |
London |
2Q'22 |
38 |
|
7 |
|
39 |
|
101 |
|
186 |
|
6.0 |
|
11 |
|
35-54 |
46-65 |
Frankfurt IV |
Frankfurt |
1Q'23 |
73 |
|
11 |
|
39 |
|
— |
|
122 |
|
17.0 |
|
13 |
|
108-127 |
121-140 |
London V |
London |
3Q'23 |
52 |
|
12 |
|
49 |
|
17 |
|
130 |
|
16.5 |
|
12 |
|
104-106 |
116-118 |
Total |
|
|
536 |
|
43 |
|
310 |
|
469 |
|
1,357 |
|
149.0 |
|
$61 |
$643-730 |
$704-791 |
(a)Represents
GSF at a facility for which, as of December 31, 2021,
activities have commenced or are expected to commence in the next 2
quarters to prepare the space for its intended use. Estimates and
timing are subject to change. May not sum to total due to
rounding.
(b)London
development costs are GBP-denominated and shown as USD-equivalent
based on an exchange rate of 1.35 as of December 31, 2021.
Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris development costs are EUR-denominated
and shown as USD-equivalent based on an exchange rate of 1.13 as of
December 31, 2021.
(c)Represents
GSF under construction that, upon completion, will be powered shell
available for future development into GSF.
(d)Critical
power capacity represents the gross aggregate of UPS power
installed and available to provide multiple redundancy levels for
lease and exclusive use by customers. Capacity is stated in
megawatts as represented by UPS manufacturer nameplate ratings and
does not include ancillary UPS capacity not configured for the
direct support of leased customer critical IT load.
(e)Actual
to date is the cash investment as of December 31, 2021. There
may be accruals above this amount for work completed, for which
cash has not yet been paid.
(f)Represents
management’s estimate of the total costs required to complete the
current GSF under development. There may be an increase in costs if
customers require greater power density.
Customer Diversification
Our portfolio is currently leased to approximately 1,000 customers,
many of which are leading global companies. The following table
sets forth information regarding the 20 largest customers,
including their affiliates, in our portfolio based on annualized
rent as of December 31, 2021:
CyrusOne Inc.
Customer Sector Diversification(a)
As of December 31, 2021
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Principal Customer Industry |
Number of
Locations |
Annualized
Rent(b)
(000)
|
Percentage of
Portfolio
Annualized
Rent(c)
|
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Lease Term in
Months(d)
|
1 |
Information Technology |
13 |
|
$ |
238,726 |
|
20.0 |
% |
84.2 |
|
2 |
Information Technology |
8 |
|
118,620 |
|
9.9 |
% |
45.4 |
|
3 |
Information Technology |
14 |
|
87,138 |
|
7.3 |
% |
27.9 |
|
4 |
Information Technology |
5 |
|
60,353 |
|
5.0 |
% |
30.9 |
|
5 |
Information Technology |
10 |
|
50,374 |
|
4.2 |
% |
39.4 |
|
6 |
Information Technology |
4 |
|
45,179 |
|
3.8 |
% |
43.9 |
|
7 |
Information Technology |
3 |
|
22,508 |
|
1.9 |
% |
23.3 |
|
8 |
Financial Services |
1 |
|
20,837 |
|
1.7 |
% |
111.0 |
|
9 |
Healthcare |
2 |
|
16,431 |
|
1.4 |
% |
72.0 |
|
10 |
Information Technology |
7 |
|
16,383 |
|
1.4 |
% |
26.8 |
|
11 |
Research and Consulting Services |
3 |
|
14,634 |
|
1.2 |
% |
10.0 |
|
12 |
Financial Services |
2 |
|
12,048 |
|
1.0 |
% |
30.7 |
|
13 |
Financial Services |
4 |
|
11,697 |
|
1.0 |
% |
75.4 |
|
14 |
Financial Services |
4 |
|
11,568 |
|
1.0 |
% |
77.7 |
|
15 |
Information Technology |
1 |
|
9,931 |
|
0.8 |
% |
26.6 |
|
16 |
Telecommunication Services |
2 |
|
9,369 |
|
0.8 |
% |
41.0 |
|
17 |
Telecommunication Services |
1 |
|
8,279 |
|
0.7 |
% |
71.0 |
|
18 |
Industrials |
2 |
|
8,086 |
|
0.7 |
% |
69.4 |
|
19 |
Information Technology |
3 |
|
7,376 |
|
0.6 |
% |
29.5 |
|
20 |
Telecommunication Services |
7 |
|
7,183 |
|
0.6 |
% |
18.0 |
|
|
|
|
$ |
776,719 |
|
64.9 |
% |
54.9 |
|
(a)Customers
and their affiliates are consolidated.
(b)Represents
monthly contractual rent (defined as cash rent including customer
reimbursements for metered power) under existing customer leases as
of December 31, 2021, multiplied by 12. For the month of
December 2021, customer reimbursements were $268.8 million
annualized and consisted of reimbursements by customers across all
facilities with separately metered power. Customer reimbursements
under leases with separately metered power vary from month-to-month
based on factors such as our customers' utilization of power and
the suppliers' pricing of power. From January 1, 2019 through
December 31, 2021, customer reimbursements under leases with
separately metered power constituted between 14.9% and 22.5% of
annualized rent. After giving effect to abatements, free rent and
other straight-line adjustments, our annualized effective rent as
of December 31, 2021 was $1,195.9 million. Our annualized
effective rent was lower than our annualized rent as of
December 31, 2021 because our negative straight-line and other
adjustments and amortization of deferred revenue exceeded our
positive straight-line adjustments due to factors such as the
timing of contractual rent escalations and customer payments for
services.
(c)Represents
the customer’s total annualized rent divided by the total
annualized rent in the portfolio as of December 31, 2021,
which was approximately $1,196.3 million.
(d)Weighted
average based on customer’s percentage of total annualized rent
expiring and is as of December 31, 2021, assuming that
customers exercise no renewal options and exercise all early
termination rights that require payment of less than 50% of the
remaining rents. Early termination rights that require payment of
50% or more of the remaining lease payments are not assumed to be
exercised because such payments approximate the profitability
margin of leasing that space to the customer, such that we do not
consider early termination to be economically detrimental to
us.
Lease Distribution
The following table sets forth information relating to the
distribution of customer leases in the properties in our portfolio,
based on GSF under lease as of December 31, 2021:
CyrusOne Inc.
Lease Distribution
As of December 31, 2021
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GSF Under Lease(a)
|
Number of
Customers(b)
|
Percentage of
All Customers |
Total Leased
GSF(c)
(000)
|
Percentage of
Portfolio
Leased GSF |
Annualized
Rent(d)
(000)
|
Percentage of
Annualized Rent |
0-999 |
596 |
|
65 |
% |
124 |
|
2 |
% |
$ |
88,723 |
|
7 |
% |
1000-2499 |
117 |
|
13 |
% |
185 |
|
3 |
% |
47,792 |
|
4 |
% |
2500-4999 |
60 |
|
6 |
% |
216 |
|
3 |
% |
41,567 |
|
3 |
% |
5000-9999 |
45 |
|
5 |
% |
309 |
|
4 |
% |
55,016 |
|
5 |
% |
10000+ |
102 |
|
11 |
% |
6,249 |
|
88 |
% |
963,232 |
|
81 |
% |
Total |
920 |
|
100 |
% |
7,083 |
|
100 |
% |
$ |
1,196,329 |
|
100 |
% |
(a)Represents
all leases in our portfolio, including colocation, office and other
leases.
(b)Represents
the number of customers occupying data center, office and other
space as of December 31, 2021. This may vary from total
customer count as some customers may be under contract but have yet
to occupy space.
(c)Represents
the total square feet at a facility under lease and that has
commenced billing, excluding space held for development or space
used by CyrusOne. A customer’s leased GSF is estimated based on
such customer’s direct CSF or office and light-industrial space
plus management’s estimate of infrastructure support space,
including mechanical, telecommunications and utility rooms, as well
as building common areas.
(d)Represents
monthly contractual rent (defined as cash rent including customer
reimbursements for metered power) under existing customer leases as
of December 31, 2021, multiplied by 12. For the month of
December 2021, customer reimbursements were $268.8 million
annualized and consisted of reimbursements by customers across all
facilities with separately metered power. Customer reimbursements
under leases with separately metered power vary from month-to-month
based on factors such as our customers' utilization of power and
the suppliers' pricing of power. From January 1, 2019 through
December 31, 2021, customer reimbursements under leases with
separately metered power constituted between 14.9% and 22.5% of
annualized rent. After giving effect to abatements, free rent and
other straight-line adjustments, our annualized effective rent as
of December 31, 2021 was $1,195.9 million. Our annualized
effective rent was lower than our annualized rent as of
December 31, 2021 because our negative straight-line and other
adjustments and amortization of deferred revenue exceeded our
positive straight-line adjustments due to factors such as the
timing of contractual rent escalations and customer payments for
services.
Lease Expiration
The following table sets forth a summary schedule of the customer
lease expirations for leases in place as of December 31, 2021,
plus available space, for each of the 10 full calendar years
beginning January 1, 2022, at the properties in our
portfolio.
CyrusOne Inc.
Lease Expirations
As of December 31, 2021
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year(a)
|
Number of
Leases
Expiring(b)
|
Total GSF Expiring (000) |
Percentage of
Total GSF |
Annualized
Rent(c)
(000)
|
Percentage of
Annualized Rent |
Annualized Rent
at Expiration(d)
(000)
|
Percentage of
Annualized Rent at Expiration |
Available |
|
1,563 |
|
18 |
% |
|
|
|
|
Month-to-Month |
2,037 |
|
421 |
|
5 |
% |
$ |
83,809 |
|
7 |
% |
$ |
83,809 |
|
6 |
% |
2022 |
3,628 |
|
940 |
|
11 |
% |
185,338 |
|
15 |
% |
193,604 |
|
15 |
% |
2023 |
1,611 |
|
1,220 |
|
14 |
% |
196,278 |
|
16 |
% |
206,870 |
|
16 |
% |
2024 |
1,268 |
|
763 |
|
9 |
% |
170,177 |
|
14 |
% |
176,667 |
|
14 |
% |
2025 |
216 |
|
416 |
|
5 |
% |
83,635 |
|
7 |
% |
89,950 |
|
7 |
% |
2026 |
183 |
|
965 |
|
11 |
% |
164,455 |
|
14 |
% |
180,950 |
|
14 |
% |
2027 |
57 |
|
651 |
|
7 |
% |
106,539 |
|
9 |
% |
117,862 |
|
9 |
% |
2028 |
32 |
|
347 |
|
4 |
% |
48,550 |
|
4 |
% |
55,551 |
|
4 |
% |
2029 |
8 |
|
83 |
|
1 |
% |
7,225 |
|
1 |
% |
8,819 |
|
1 |
% |
2030 |
10 |
|
308 |
|
4 |
% |
30,211 |
|
3 |
% |
41,879 |
|
3 |
% |
2031 |
13 |
|
522 |
|
6 |
% |
45,387 |
|
4 |
% |
62,318 |
|
5 |
% |
2032 - Thereafter |
27 |
447 |
|
5 |
% |
74,725 |
|
6 |
% |
83,374 |
|
6 |
% |
Total |
9,090 |
|
8,646 |
|
100 |
% |
$ |
1,196,329 |
|
100 |
% |
$ |
1,301,653 |
|
100 |
% |
(a)Leases
that were auto-renewed prior to December 31, 2021 are shown in
the calendar year in which their current auto-renewed term expires.
Unless otherwise stated in the footnotes, the information set forth
in the table assumes that customers exercise no renewal options and
exercise all early termination rights that require payment of less
than 50% of the remaining rents. Early termination rights that
require payment of 50% or more of the remaining lease payments are
not assumed to be exercised.
(b)Number
of leases represents each agreement with a customer. A lease
agreement could include multiple spaces and a customer could have
multiple leases.
(c)Represents
monthly contractual rent (defined as cash rent including customer
reimbursements for metered power) under existing customer leases as
of December 31, 2021, multiplied by 12. For the month of
December 2021, customer reimbursements were $268.8 million
annualized and consisted of reimbursements by customers across all
facilities with separately metered power. Customer reimbursements
under leases with separately metered power vary from month-to-month
based on factors such as our customers' utilization of power and
the suppliers' pricing of power. From January 1, 2019 through
December 31, 2021, customer reimbursements under leases with
separately metered power constituted between 14.9% and 22.5% of
annualized rent. After giving effect to abatements, free rent and
other straight-line adjustments, our annualized effective rent as
of December 31, 2021 was $1,195.9 million. Our annualized
effective rent was lower than our annualized rent as of
December 31, 2021 because our negative straight-line and other
adjustments and amortization of deferred revenue exceeded our
positive straight-line adjustments due to factors such as the
timing of contractual rent escalations and customer payments for
services.
(d)Represents
the final monthly contractual rent under existing customer leases
that had commenced as of December 31, 2021, multiplied by
12.
Regulation
General
Properties in our markets are subject to various laws, ordinances
and regulations, including regulations relating to common areas. In
addition to the regulations described below, we are subject to
various federal, state and local regulations, such as state and
local fire and life safety and environmental regulations. We
believe that each of our properties has, or is expected to have
when required, the necessary permits and approvals for us to
operate our business.
Americans With Disabilities Act
Our properties must comply with Title III of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA, to the extent that such
properties are “public accommodations” as defined by the ADA. The
ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons
with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where
such removal is readily achievable. We believe that our properties
are in substantial compliance with the ADA and that we will not be
required to make substantial capital expenditures to address the
requirements of the ADA. However, noncompliance with the ADA could
result in imposition of fines or an award of damages to private
litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations
is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties
and to make alterations as appropriate in this
respect.
Environmental Matters
We are subject to laws and regulations relating to the protection
of the environment, the storage, management and disposal of
hazardous materials, emissions to air and discharges to water, the
cleanup of contaminated sites, noise ordinances and health and
safety matters. These include various regulations promulgated by
the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal, state, and
local regulatory agencies and legislative bodies relating to our
operations, including those involving power generators, batteries,
and fuel storage to support co-location infrastructure. While
we believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with
environmental, health, and human safety laws and regulations, as an
owner or operator of property and in connection with the current
and historical use of hazardous materials and other operations at
its sites, we could incur significant costs, including fines,
penalties and other sanctions, cleanup costs and third-party claims
for property damages or personal injuries, as a result of
violations of or liabilities under environmental laws and
regulations. Fuel storage tanks are present at many of our
properties, and if releases were to occur, we may be liable for the
costs of cleaning up resulting contamination. Some of our
sites also have a history of previous commercial operations,
including past underground storage tanks.
Some of the properties may contain asbestos-containing building
materials. Environmental laws require that asbestos-containing
building materials be properly managed and maintained and may
impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators for
failure to comply with these requirements.
Environmental consultants have conducted Phase I or similar
non-intrusive environmental site assessments on recently acquired
properties and, if appropriate, additional environmental inquiries
and assessments. Nonetheless, we may acquire or develop sites in
the future with unknown environmental conditions from historical
operations. Although we are not aware of any sites at which we
currently have material remedial obligations, the imposition of
remedial obligations as a result of spill or the discovery of
contaminants in the future could result in significant additional
costs to us.
Our operations also require us to obtain permits and/or other
governmental approvals and to develop response plans in connection
with the use of our generators or other operations. These
requirements could restrict our operations or delay the development
of data centers in the future. In addition, from time to time,
federal, state or local government regulators enact new or revise
existing legislation or regulations that could affect us, either
beneficially or adversely. As a result, we could incur significant
costs in complying with environmental laws or regulations that are
promulgated in the future.
Insurance
We carry comprehensive liability, fire, extended coverage, business
interruption and rental loss insurance covering all of the
properties in our portfolio under a blanket policy. In the opinion
of our management, our policy specifications, limits and insurance
carriers are appropriate given the relative risk of loss, the cost
of coverage and industry practice. We cannot provide any
assurance that the business interruption or property insurance we
have will cover all losses that we may experience, that the
insurance carrier will be solvent, that rates will remain
commercially reasonable, that insurance carriers will not cancel
our policies, or that the insurance carriers will pay all claims
made by us. Certain circumstances, such as acts of war, are
generally uninsurable under our policies. See also “Risk
Factors-Risks Related to Our Business and Operations." Any losses
to our properties that are not covered by insurance, or that exceed
our policy coverage limits, could adversely affect our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
Competition
We compete with numerous public and private companies, developers,
owners and operators of technology-related real estate and data
centers, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same
markets in which our properties are located, as well as various
other public and privately held companies that may provide data
center colocation as part of a more expansive managed services
offering. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below
current market rates or below the rental rates we currently charge
our customers or otherwise adopt aggressive pricing policies, or if
our competitors offer space that tenants perceive to be superior to
ours (based on numerous factors including power, security
considerations, location or network connectivity), we may lose
existing or potential customers and we may be pressured to reduce
our rental rates below those we currently charge in order to retain
customers when our customers’ leases expire or incur costs to
improve our properties. In addition, our customers have the option
of building their own data center space which can also place
pressure on our rental rates.
As a developer of data center space and provider of interconnection
services, we also compete for the services of key third-party
providers of services, including engineers and contractors with
expertise in the development of data centers. There is competition
for the services of specialized contractors and other third-party
providers required for the development of data centers, increasing
the cost of engaging such providers and the risk of delays in
completing our development projects.
In addition, we face competition from real estate developers in our
sector and in other industries for the acquisition of additional
properties suitable for the development of data centers. Such
competition may reduce the number of properties available for
acquisition, increase the price of these properties and reduce the
demand for data center space in the markets we seek to
serve.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2021, we have 456 team members employed by
the Company, including 108 employees located in European countries.
This includes approximately 223 in data center operations, 51 in
sales and marketing, 32 in construction and engineering and 150 in
corporate operations. None of our employees have chosen to be
represented by a labor union.
Our employees focus on taking care of our customers which we
believe drives value creation for our shareholders. We offer
competitive benefits and training programs to develop employees’
expertise and performance and have corporate policies to strive to
provide a safe, harassment-free work environment guided by
principles of fair and equal treatment and prioritize effective
communication and employee engagement. The Company maintains an
Ethics and Compliance Hotline designed for employees or other
stakeholders to report any violation of our policies, including our
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, or other concerns you may have
regarding unethical or illegal business conduct. See Part III, Item
10 "Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” of this
Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Form 10-K") for more
information.
We track key human capital metrics including demographics, talent
pipeline, diversity, and employee engagement. We have a stable
workforce with an average tenure of 4.9 years and voluntary
employee turnover of approximately 13% during the year ended
December 31, 2021. To attract diversity in our applicant
pools, we post our openings to a wide variety of job boards and
deploy appropriate language in our postings. As of
December 31, 2021, our U.S. workforce is approximately 67%
non-minority, 30% minority and 3% have chosen not to identify. As
of December 31, 2021, our employee base self-identified as 79%
male and 21% female, and our senior leadership team consists of 17%
executives identifying as female. As of February 16, 2022, our
board of directors consists of 43% directors identifying as female
or minority.
Financial Information
For financial information related to our operations, please refer
to the financial statements including the notes thereto, included
in this Form 10-K.
How to Obtain Our SEC Filings
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and
other information with the SEC. All reports we file with the SEC
will be available free of charge via EDGAR through the SEC website
at http://www.sec.gov. We make available our reports on Forms 10-K,
10-Q, and 8-K (as well as all amendments to these reports), and
other information, free of charge, at the "Investors" section of
our website at http://www.cyrusone.com. The information found on,
or otherwise accessible through, our website is not incorporated by
reference into, nor does it form a part of, this report or any
other document that we file with the SEC.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider all the risks described below, as
well as the other information contained in this document when
evaluating your investment in our securities. Any of the following
risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common stock. The
risks and uncertainties described below are those that we currently
believe may materially affect our Company. Additional risks and
uncertainties of which we are unaware or that we currently deem
immaterial also may become important factors that affect our
Company. The occurrence of any of the following risks might cause
you to lose all or a part of your investment. Some statements in
this Form 10-K, including statements in the following risk factors,
constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section
entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements.”
Summary Risk Factors
The following is a summary of some of the risks and uncertainties
that could materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common stock. You
should read this summary together with the more detailed
description of each risk factor contained below.
Risks Related to the Proposed Merger
•The
Merger Transactions (as defined below) may not be completed on the
terms or timeline currently contemplated or at all, which could
adversely affect our stock price, business, financial condition and
results of operations.
•The
announcement of the Merger Agreement (as defined below) and
pendency of the Merger Transactions could negatively impact our
business, financial condition and results of
operations.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
•A
small number of customers account for a significant portion of our
revenue.
•A
significant percentage of our customer leases expire each year or
are on a month-to-month basis, and many of our leases contain early
termination provisions.
•Our
contracts with our customers typically contain indemnification and
liability provisions, in addition to service level commitments,
which could potentially impose a significant cost on us in the
event of losses.
•Our
customers may choose to develop or relocate into new data centers
or expand their own existing data centers, which could result in
the loss of one or more key customers or reduce demand for our data
centers.
•A
decrease in the demand for data center space, or an increase in
supply driving down market prices, could adversely affect our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
•We
face significant competition and may be unable to lease vacant
space, renew existing leases or re-lease space as leases
expire.
•We
do not own all of the land or buildings in which our data centers
are located but lease or sublease certain of our data center
spaces.
•Our
real estate development strategies may not be successful, and our
growth depends on our data center development activities, including
supply chain risks, the availability of developable land, and our
ability to successfully lease our developed
properties.
•Any
failure of our physical infrastructure or services could lead to
significant costs and disruptions that could reduce our revenues
and harm our brand and reputation.
•We
and our partners, contractors and vendors have been and may
continue to be vulnerable to security breaches or cyber-attacks
which have disrupted and could disrupt our operations and harm our
brand and reputation.
•Recent
turnover, including the search for a permanent President and CEO,
or the further loss, of any of our key personnel, including our
executive officers or key sales associates.
•Any
failure of our connectivity solutions could lead to significant
costs and disruptions that could reduce our revenue and harm our
business reputation and financial results.
Risks Related to the Real Estate Industry
•Our
performance and value are subject to risks associated with real
estate assets and with the real estate industry.
•Illiquidity
of real estate investments, particularly our data centers, could
significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in
the performance of our properties, which could harm our financial
condition.
Risks Related to Our Debt and Capital Structure
•To
fund our growth strategy and refinance our indebtedness, we depend
on external sources of capital, which may not be available to us on
commercially reasonable terms or at all.
•We
have significant outstanding indebtedness that involves significant
debt service obligations, limits our operational and financial
flexibility, exposes us to interest rate fluctuations and exposes
us to the risk of default under our debt obligations.
•Failure
to hedge effectively against interest rate changes and our
increased exposure to foreign currency fluctuations as a result of
our foreign currency hedging activities may adversely affect our
results of operations
Risks Related to Our General Business
•The
novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and measures to prevent its
spread could materially adversely impact our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
•Our
international activities are subject to special risks different
from those faced by us in the United States, including compliance
with anti-corruption laws and regulations, and we may not be able
to effectively manage our international business.
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure
•Our
rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against
our directors and officers are limited.
•Our
charter and bylaws, the partnership agreement of our operating
partnership and certain provisions of Maryland law contain
provisions that may delay, defer or prevent an acquisition of our
common stock or a change in control.
Risks Related to Status as a REIT
•If
we fail to remain qualified as a REIT, we will be subject to U.S.
federal income tax as a regular corporation and could face a
substantial tax liability and even if we remain qualified as a
REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash
flow.
•Qualifying
as a REIT involves highly technical and complex Code provisions.
Our continued qualification as a REIT will depend on our
satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational,
distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a
continuing basis.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
•Our
cash available for distribution to stockholders may not be
sufficient to make distributions at expected levels, and we may
need to borrow in order to make such distributions; consequently,
we may not be able to make such distributions in full.
Risks Related to the Proposed Merger
The Merger Transactions may not be completed on the terms or
timeline currently contemplated or at all, which could adversely
affect our stock price, business, financial condition and results
of operations.
As previously announced, on November 14, 2021, the Company entered
into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with
Calvary Parent L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“Parent”), and
Cavalry Merger Sub LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a
wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to
which, subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement,
Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company (the “Merger”),
with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary
of Parent. The completion of the Merger and the other transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Merger Transactions”)
are subject to certain conditions, including (i) the receipt of
certain required regulatory or foreign direct investment approvals;
(ii) the accuracy of the other party’s representations and
warranties (subject to certain materiality qualifiers); and (iii)
the other party’s compliance in all material respects with its
pre-closing covenants. The Merger Agreement further provides that
Parent and Merger Sub’s obligation to consummate the Merger
Transactions is subject to receipt of an opinion that we have been
organized and operated in conformity with the requirements for
qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended, since the taxable year ended December 31,
2013 and until the effective time. While it is currently
anticipated that the Merger Transactions will be consummated during
the second quarter of 2022, there can be no assurance that such
conditions will be satisfied in a timely manner or at all, or that
an effect, event, development or change will not transpire that
could delay or prevent these conditions from being
satisfied.
If the Merger Transactions are not consummated for any reason, the
trading price of our common stock may decline to the extent that
the market price of the common stock reflects positive market
assumptions that the Merger Transactions will be consummated and
the related benefits will be realized. We may also be subject to
additional risks if the Merger Transactions are not completed,
including:
•the
requirement in the Merger Agreement that, under certain
circumstances, we pay Parent a termination fee of $319.5
million;
•incurring
substantial costs related to the Merger Transactions, such as
legal, accounting, financial advisory and integration costs that
have already been incurred or will continue to be incurred until
closing;
•limitations
on our ability to retain and hire key personnel;
•reputational
harm including relationships with investors, customers and business
partners due to the adverse perception of any failure to
successfully complete the Merger Transactions; and
•potential
disruption to our business and distraction of our workforce and
management team to pursue other opportunities that could be
beneficial to us, in each case without realizing any of the
benefits of having the Merger Transactions completed.
Further, we or Parent may terminate the Merger Agreement if the
Merger Transactions have not been consummated by May 14, 2022
(subject (i) to an extension until five business days following the
expiration of the marketing period for Parent’s debt financing) and
(ii) to a six-month extension if all closing conditions other than
those relating to a clearance, consent or restraint in respect of
any antitrust law or foreign investment law have not been received,
the “Outside Date”). We or Parent also may terminate the Merger
Agreement (i) by mutual written consent; (ii) if there is a final
and nonappealable judgment enacted, promulgated, issued, entered,
amended or enforced by any governmental authority of competent
jurisdiction or any applicable law enjoining, restraining or
otherwise prohibiting consummation of the Merger Transactions; or
(iii) if the other party has breached its representations or
covenants in a way that would prevent satisfaction of a closing
condition by the Outside Date.
The announcement of the Merger Agreement and pendency of the Merger
Transactions could negatively impact our business, financial
condition and results of operations.
The pendency of the Merger Transactions could adversely affect our
business and operations and may result in the departure of key
personnel. In connection with the Merger Transactions, some of our
customers and business partners may delay or defer decisions or may
end their relationships with us, which could negatively affect our
revenues, earnings and cash flows, regardless of whether the Merger
Transactions are completed. In addition, we have undertaken certain
covenants in the Merger Agreement restricting the conduct of our
business during the pendency of the Merger Transactions, including
restrictions on undertaking certain significant financing
transactions and certain other actions, even if such actions would
prove beneficial to us. Similarly, our current and prospective
employees may experience uncertainty about their future roles with
us following the Merger Transactions, which may materially
adversely affect our ability to attract and retain key personnel
during the pendency of the Merger Transactions.
Our directors and executive officers have interests in the Merger
Transactions that may be different from, or in addition to, the
interests of our other stockholders.
Our directors and executive officers have financial interests in
the Merger Transactions that may be different from, or in addition
to, the interests of our other stockholders. These interests may
include:
•the
treatment of Company equity awards provided for under the Merger
Agreement;
•severance
and other benefits in the case of certain qualifying terminations
under the terms of an individual employment or severance
agreement;
•cash-based
deal retention bonuses under a program established for the benefit
of certain Company employees, including executive
officers;
•each
participant (including each executive officer) in the Company’s
annual bonus plan will be eligible for a pro-rated annual bonus for
the year in which the effective time occurs if such participant is
terminated prior to the date such bonuses are earned and he or she
otherwise qualifies for severance; and
•continued
indemnification and insurance coverage under the Merger Agreement,
the Company’s organizational documents and indemnification
agreements the Company has entered into with each of its directors
and executive officers.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
A small number of customers account for a significant portion of
our revenue. The loss or significant reduction in business from one
or more of our large customers could significantly harm our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
We currently depend, and expect to continue to depend, upon a
relatively small number of customers for a significant percentage
of our revenue. Our top 10 customers collectively accounted for
approximately 57% of our total annualized rent as of
December 31, 2021. We have one customer which represented 19%
of our total revenue as of December 31, 2021 and 20% of our
annualized rent as of December 31, 2021. As a result of this
customer concentration, our business, financial condition, results
of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as
the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected if
we lose one or more of our larger customers, if one or more of such
customers significantly reduce their business with us or if we
choose not to enforce, or to enforce less vigorously, any rights
that we may have now or in the future against these significant
customers because of our desire to maintain our relationship with
them.
A significant percentage of our customer base is also concentrated
in two industry sectors: information technology and financial
services. Enterprises in the information technology and financial
services sectors comprised approximately 67% and 13% respectively,
of our annualized rent as of December 31, 2021. A downturn in
one of these industries could negatively impact the financial
condition of one or more of our information technology or financial
services customers, including several of our larger customers. In
addition, instability in financial markets and economies generally
may adversely affect our customers’ ability to replace or renew
maturing liabilities on a timely basis, access the capital markets
to meet liquidity and capital expenditure requirements and may
result in adverse effects on our customers’ financial condition and
results of operations. As a result of these factors, customers
could default on their obligations to us, delay the purchase of new
services from us or decline to renew expiring leases, any of which
could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock.
Additionally, if any customer becomes a debtor in a case under the
U.S. Bankruptcy Code, applicable bankruptcy laws may limit our
ability to terminate our contract with such customer solely because
of the bankruptcy or recover any amounts owed to us under our
agreements with such customer. In addition, applicable bankruptcy
laws could allow the customer to reject and terminate its agreement
with us, with limited ability for us to collect the full amount of
our damages. Our business, including our revenue and cash available
for distribution to our stockholders, could be adversely affected
if any of our significant customers were to become bankrupt or
insolvent.
A significant percentage of our customer leases expire each year or
are on a month-to-month basis, and many of our leases contain early
termination provisions. If leases with our customers are not
renewed on the same or more favorable terms or are terminated early
by our customers, our business, financial condition, results of
operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the
market price of our common stock could be substantially
harmed.
Our customers may not renew their leases upon expiration. This risk
is increased by the significant percentage of our customer leases
that expire every year. As of December 31, 2021, leases
representing 15%, 16% and 14% of the annualized rent for our
portfolio will expire during 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, and
an additional 7% of the 2021 annualized rent for our
portfolio was from month-to-month leases. While historically we
have retained a significant number of our customers, including
those leasing from us on a month-to-month basis, upon expiration
our customers may elect not to renew their leases or renew their
leases at lower rates, for less space, for fewer services or for
shorter terms. If we are unable to successfully renew or continue
our customer leases on the same or more favorable terms or
subsequently re-lease available data center space when such leases
expire, our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock could be adversely affected.
In addition, many of our leases contain early termination
provisions that allow our customers to reduce the term of their
leases subject to payment of an early termination charge that is
often a specified portion of the remaining rent payable on such
leases. The exercise by customers of early termination options
could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock.
Our contracts with our customers may adversely affect our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
In the ordinary course of business, we enter into agreements with
our customers pursuant to which our customers lease or otherwise
contract for the use of data center space from us. These contracts
typically contain indemnification and liability provisions, in
addition to service level commitments, which could potentially
impose a significant cost on us in the event of losses arising out
of certain breaches of such agreements, services to be provided by
us or our subcontractors or from third-party claims. Customers
increasingly are looking to pass through their regulatory
obligations and other liabilities to their outsourced data center
providers and we may not be able to limit our liability or damages
in an event of loss suffered by such customers, whether as a result
of our breach of agreement or otherwise. Further, liabilities and
standards for damages and enforcement actions, including the
regulatory framework applicable to different types of losses, vary
by jurisdiction, and we may be subject to greater liability for
certain losses in certain jurisdictions. Additionally, in
connection with our acquisitions, we have assumed and expect to
assume existing agreements with customers that may subject us to
greater liability for such an event of loss. If such an event of
loss occurred, we could be liable for material monetary damages and
could incur significant legal fees in defending against such an
action, which could adversely affect our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common stock. In
addition, our business may be adversely impacted by inflation as
our customer leases generally do not provide for annual increases
in rent based on inflation. Although most of our leases have
contractual rent escalations, we still bear the risk of increases
in the costs of operating and maintaining our data center
facilities.
Our customers may choose to develop or relocate into new data
centers or expand their own existing data centers, which could
result in the loss of one or more key customers or reduce demand
for our data centers.
In the future, our customers may choose to develop or relocate to
new data centers or expand or consolidate into their existing data
centers that we do not own. In the event that any of our key
customers were to do so, it could result in a loss of business to
us or put pressure on our pricing. If we lose a customer, we cannot
provide assurance that we would be able to replace that customer at
a competitive rate or at all, which could adversely affect our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
A decrease in the demand for data center space, or an increase in
supply driving down market prices, could adversely affect our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
Substantially all of our properties consist of data center space.
The adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of
operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the
market price of our common stock from a decreased demand for data
center space would likely be greater than if we owned a portfolio
with a more diversified customer base or less specialized use.
Further, our largest customers have demonstrated demand for more
efficient low-carbon facilities and these customers, along with the
Company, have established aggressive goals for decarbonization, and
these efforts may increase the costs to build and operate data
center space and could adversely impact our business or result in
obsolescence of less efficient facilities. Adverse developments in
the outsourced data center space industry could lead to reduced
corporate IT spending or reduced demand for outsourced data center
space. Changes in industry practice or in technology, such as
server virtualization technology, more efficient or miniaturization
of computing or networking devices, or devices that require higher
power densities than today’s devices, could also reduce demand for
the physical data center space we provide or make the customer
improvements in our facilities obsolete or in need of significant
upgrades to remain viable.
We face significant competition and may be unable to lease vacant
space, renew existing leases or re-lease space as leases expire,
which may adversely affect our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock.
We compete with numerous public and private companies, developers,
owners and operators of technology-related real estate and data
centers, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same
markets in which our properties are located, as well as various
other public and privately held companies that may provide data
center colocation as part of a more expansive managed services
offering. In addition, we may face competition from new entrants
into the data center market. Some of our competitors may have
significant advantages over us, including greater name recognition,
longer operating histories, lower operating costs, pre-existing
relationships with current or potential customers, greater
financial, marketing and other resources and flexibility, access to
less expensive power and access to attractive land for development.
These advantages could allow our competitors to respond more
quickly to strategic opportunities or changes in our industries or
markets. If our competitors offer data center space that our
existing or potential customers perceive to be superior to ours
based on numerous factors, including power, security
considerations, location or network connectivity, access to
renewable resources for energy, water conservation, or if they
offer rental rates below our or current market rates or otherwise
adopt aggressive pricing policies, we may lose existing or
potential customers, incur costs to improve our properties or be
forced to reduce our rental rates or provide more favorable lease
terms.
As a result, we may suffer from pricing pressure that would
adversely affect our ability to generate revenues. Some of these
competitors may also provide our target customers with additional
benefits, including bundled communication services or cloud
services, and may do so in a manner that is more attractive to our
potential customers than obtaining space in our data centers.
Competitors could also operate more successfully or form alliances
to acquire significant market share.
Finally, as our customers evolve their IT strategies, we must
remain flexible and evolve to remain competitive within the
industry and as the market shifts. Ineffective planning and
execution in our cloud strategy and product development lifecycle
and carbon neutral commitment may cause difficulty in sustaining
competitive advantage in our products and services.
We do not own all of the land or buildings in which our data
centers are located. Instead, we lease or sublease certain of our
data center spaces and the ability to retain these leases or
subleases could be a significant risk to our ongoing
operations.
We do not own all of the land on, and buildings in, which we
operate our data centers. Our portfolio includes 12 buildings that
are leased from third parties and account for approximately 958,889
GSF, or approximately 11% of our total GSF. These leases (including
ground leases, leased land and leased buildings) accounted for 13%
of our total annualized rent as of December 31, 2021. In
addition, future properties that we acquire, particularly outside
of the U. S., may be on leased land or facilities that we do not
own.
Additionally, in several of our smaller facilities we sublease our
space, and our rights under these subleases are dependent on our
sublandlord retaining its rights under the prime lease. When the
primary terms of our existing leases and subleases expire, we
generally have the right to extend the terms of our leases and
subleases for one or more renewal periods, subject to, in the case
of several of our subleases, our sublandlord renewing its term
under the prime lease. For four of these leases and subleases, the
renewal rent will be determined based on the fair market value of
rental rates for the property, and the then prevailing rental rates
may be higher than the current rental rates under the applicable
lease. The rent for the remaining leases and subleases will be
based on a fixed percentage increase over the base rent during the
year immediately prior to expiration. Several of our data centers
are leased or subleased from other data center companies, which may
increase our risk of non-renewal or renewal on less than favorable
terms. If renewal rates are less favorable than those we currently
have, we may be required to increase revenues within existing data
centers to offset such increase in lease payments. Failure to
increase revenues to sufficiently offset these projected higher
costs would adversely impact our operating income. Upon the end of
our renewal options, we would have to renegotiate our lease terms
with the applicable landlords.
Potential customers may choose not lease space in our leased or
subleased data centers due to the risks associated with our ability
to control the terms of the underlying land or land and building
lease. Additionally, if we are unable to renew the lease or
sublease at any of our data centers, we could lose customers due to
the disruptions in their operations caused by the relocation. We
could also lose those customers that choose our data centers based
on their locations. In addition, it is not typical for us to
relocate data center infrastructure equipment, such as generators,
power distribution units and cooling units, from their initial
installation. The costs of relocating such equipment to different
data centers could be prohibitive and, as such, we could lose the
value of this equipment. For these reasons, any lease or sublease
that cannot be renewed could adversely affect our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
Our real estate development strategies may not be successful, and
our growth depends on our data center development activities,
including supply chain risks, the availability of developable land,
and our ability to successfully lease our developed properties, and
any delays or unexpected costs associated with such activities or
the ability to lease such properties may harm our growth prospects,
future business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock.
We are involved in the development, construction, and renovation of
data centers and we intend to continue to pursue development
activities as opportunities arise. As a result, we are and will
continue to be subject to risks associated with our data center
development activities that could adversely affect our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common stock.
For example, current and future development activities have
involved and will involve substantial planning, allocation of
significant company resources prior to such projects generating
revenue. Such activities have entailed and will entail certain
risks, including risks related to zoning, regulatory approvals,
construction costs, disruptions and delays, as well as our ability
to raise capital, including both debt and equity, to finance such
projects. These development activities also have required and will
require us to carefully select and rely on the experience of one or
more general contractors and associated subcontractors during the
construction process. Should a general contractor or significant
subcontractor experience financial or other problems during the
construction process, we have experienced and could experience,
among other things, significant delays, increased costs to complete
the project and other negative impacts to our expected returns on
the project, as well as reputational risk. For instance, a general
contractor’s recent financial difficulties resulted in us having to
pay significant amounts, which we do not expect to recover from the
general contractor, to its subcontractors in order to keep the
project on schedule. The availability of developable land and site
selection is also a critical factor in our expansion plans, and
there may not be suitable properties available in our markets at a
location that is attractive to our customers and has the necessary
combination of access to multiple network providers, a significant
supply of electrical power, high ceilings and the ability to
sustain heavy floor loading. Furthermore, while we may prefer to
locate new data centers adjacent to our existing data centers, we
may be limited by land held for future development as well as the
inventory and location of suitable properties.
In addition, in developing new properties and expanding existing
properties, we have been and will be required to secure an adequate
supply of power from local utilities, which has included and may in
the future include unanticipated costs. For example, we have
incurred and could incur in the future increased costs to develop
utility substations on our properties in order to accommodate our
power needs. Any inability to secure an appropriate power supply on
a timely basis or on acceptable financial terms could adversely
affect our ability to develop the property on an economically
feasible basis, or at all.
We regularly monitor supply chain risks including commodity and
labor pricing trends related to our data center development capital
expenditures, where a large proportion of our current development
project costs are under firm price commitments. Should the
proportion of such project costs that are firm price commitments
decline and prices for certain selective materials increase,
including due to changes in trade policy, including recent
international trade negotiations as well as the imposition of
tariffs, our overall development costs could increase
significantly. We also continue to monitor our supply chain risks,
including our costs to develop as increases in inflation may
adversely impact our business.
These and other risks could result in disruptions or delays or
increased costs or prevent the completion of our development
activities and related projects and growth of our business, which
could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results
of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as
the market price of our common stock.
In addition, we have in the past undertaken development projects
prior to obtaining commitments from customers to lease the related
data center space. We will likely choose to undertake future
development projects prior to obtaining customer commitments. Such
development involves the risk that we will make significant
investments and be unable to attract customers to the relevant
properties on a timely basis or at all. If we are unable to attract
customers and our properties remain vacant or underutilized for a
significant amount of time, our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock could be adversely
affected.
Any failure of our physical infrastructure or services could lead
to significant costs and disruptions that could reduce our revenues
and harm our brand and reputation.
Our business depends on providing customers with a highly reliable
data center environment. We may fail to provide such service as a
result of numerous factors, including:
•pandemics,
epidemics, and other health crises such as COVID-19;
•human
error;
•failure
to timely deploy adequate infrastructure to meet customer
requirements, whether for new or existing customers;
•unexpected
equipment failure;
•power
loss or telecommunications failures;
•improper
building maintenance by us, our vendors, or by our landlords in the
buildings that we lease;
•physical
or electronic security breaches;
•fire,
tropical storm, hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake and other
natural disasters;
•water
damage;
•war,
terrorism and any related conflicts or similar events worldwide;
and
•sabotage
and vandalism.
Problems at one or more of our data centers, whether or not within
our control, could result in service interruptions or equipment
damage. Substantially all of our leases with our customers include
terms requiring us to meet certain service level commitments
primarily in terms of timely delivery of data center space,
electrical output to, and maintenance of environmental conditions
in, the data center raised floor space leased by such customers.
Any failure to meet these commitments or any equipment damage in
our data centers, including as a result of mechanical failure,
power outage, human error on our part or other reasons, could
subject us to liability under our lease terms, including service
level credits against customer rent payments, or, in certain cases
of repeated failures, the right by the customer to terminate the
lease. For example, although our data center facilities are
engineered to reliably power and cool our customers’ computing
equipment, it is possible that an outage could adversely affect a
facility’s power and cooling capabilities, and, in the past,
certain of our facilities have experienced minor outages. Depending
on the frequency and duration of these outages, the affected
customers may have the right to terminate their lease, which could
have a negative impact on our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock. As discussed, we may
also be required to expend significant financial resources to
upgrade or add to existing infrastructure to meet customer
requirements for power and cooling, and we may not be financially
or operationally able to do so in a timely manner.
Our data center infrastructure may become obsolete, and we may not
be able to operate or upgrade our power and cooling systems
cost-effectively, or at all.
The markets for the data centers we own and operate, as well as the
industries in which our customers operate, are characterized by
rapidly changing technology, evolving industry and regulatory
standards, frequent new service introductions, shifting
distribution channels and changing customer demands. Our data
center infrastructure may become obsolete due to the development of
new systems to deliver power to or eliminate heat from the servers
that we house and evolving environment sustainability objectives.
Additionally, our data center infrastructure could become obsolete
as a result of data center topology changes or the development of
new server technology that does not require the levels of critical
load and heat removal that our facilities are designed to provide
and could be run less expensively on a different platform. In
addition, our power and cooling systems are difficult and expensive
to upgrade or reposition. Accordingly, we may not be able to
efficiently upgrade or change these systems to meet new demands,
including noise mitigation and emission upgrades, without incurring
significant costs that we may not be able to pass on to our
customers. The obsolescence of our power and cooling systems could
have a material negative impact on our business, financial
condition and results of operations. Furthermore, potential future
regulations that apply to industries we serve may require customers
in those industries to seek specific requirements from their data
centers that we are unable to provide. These may include physical
security requirements applicable to the defense industry and
government contractors and privacy and security regulations
applicable to social media, SAS cloud companies, financial services
and health care industries. If such regulations were adopted, we
could lose some customers or be unable to attract new customers in
certain industries, which would have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock.
We and our partners, contractors and vendors have been and may
continue to be vulnerable to security breaches, cyber-attacks or
terrorism which have disrupted and could disrupt our operations,
harm our brand and reputation and have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
Security breaches, cyber-attacks, or disruption, of our or our
partners' or customers' physical or information technology
infrastructure, networks and related management systems could
result in, among other things, unauthorized access to our
facilities, a breach of our and our customers’ networks and
information technology infrastructure, the misappropriation of our
or our customers’ or their customers’ proprietary or confidential
information, interruptions or malfunctions in our or our customers’
operations, delays or interruptions to our ability to meet customer
needs, breach of our legal, regulatory or contractual obligations,
inability to access or rely upon critical business records or other
disruptions in our operations. Numerous sources can cause these
types of incidents, including but not limited to: physical or
electronic security breaches; acts of terrorism at or upon our
facilities; viruses, ransomware, backdoor trojans and other malware
or software vulnerabilities; hardware vulnerabilities such as
Meltdown and Spectre; accident or human error by our own personnel
or third parties; criminal activity or malfeasance (including by
our own personnel); fraud or impersonation scams perpetrated
against us or our partners or customers; or security events
impacting our third-party service providers or our partners or
customers. For instance, in December 2021 a vulnerability was
discovered in Apache Software Foundation’s Log4j—internet software
broadly used in a variety of consumer and enterprise services,
websites, applications and operational technology products—that
allowed malicious attackers to execute code remotely on any exposed
computer, which enabled them to then steal data, install
malware
or take control of the device. Although we have no external facing
systems utilizing this software, certain of our contractors and
vendors use this software. To date, we have not identified any
malicious activity as it relates to us but our investigation is
ongoing and we continue to work to both identify the effect on our
contractors and vendors and help them minimize the vulnerability’s
impact.
Our exposure to cybersecurity threats and negative consequences of
cybersecurity breaches will likely increase as we store increasing
amounts of customer data. Additionally, as we increasingly market
the security features in our data centers, our data centers may be
targeted by computer hackers seeking to compromise data security.
For instance, in December 2019, we discovered a ransomware program
encrypting certain devices, which resulted in availability issues
affecting certain managed service customers. Upon discovery of the
incident, we initiated our response and continuity protocols to
determine what occurred, restore systems and notify the appropriate
legal authorities. We have completed our investigation of this
matter. In addition, while one of our SolarWinds platforms was
affected in the supply chain hack detected in late 2020, the impact
was immediately mitigated and there has been no evidence of
compromised or suspicious activities. The total cost of these
incidents has not been significant to the Company but we continue
to make investments in our information technology infrastructure
and cybersecurity tools and services due to the likely increase in
cybersecurity threats. Should additional cybersecurity threats or
incidents occur in the future, there can be no assurance that our
information technology infrastructure, cybersecurity tools and
services and related investments will prevent such threats or
incidents from disrupting our operations, harming our brand and
reputation or having a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations. There can also be no
assurance that responding to future attacks will not impose
significant costs for us.
We recognize the increasing volume of cyber-attacks and employ
commercially practical efforts to provide reasonable assurance such
attacks are appropriately mitigated. Each year, we evaluate the
threat profile of our industry and the global community threat
intelligence to stay abreast of trends and to provide reasonable
assurance our existing countermeasures will address any new threats
identified. In the first quarter of 2021, we stood up our own
Threat Intelligence platform, collaborating with threat researchers
around the world. We may be required to expend significant
financial resources to protect against or respond to such breaches.
Cyber criminals are increasingly using powerful tactics including
evasive applications, proxies, tunneling, encryption techniques,
vulnerability exploits, buffer overflows, distributed
denial-of-service or DDoS attacks, botnets, supply chain attacks
and port scans. Techniques used to breach security change
frequently, and are generally not recognized until launched against
a target, so we may not be able to promptly detect that a security
breach or unauthorized access has occurred. We also may not be able
to implement security measures in a timely manner or, if and when
implemented, we may not be able to determine the extent to which
these measures could be circumvented. As we provide assurances to
our customers that we provide a high level of security, if an
actual or perceived security breach occurs, the market’s perception
of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose sales
and current and potential customers, and such a breach could be
particularly harmful to our brand and reputation. Any breaches that
may occur could also expose us to increased risk of lawsuits,
material monetary damages, potential violations of applicable
privacy and other laws, penalties and fines, loss of existing or
potential customers, harm to our reputation and increases in our
security and insurance costs, which could have a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock. In the event of a breach resulting in loss of
data, such as personally identifiable information or other such
data protected by data privacy or other laws, we may be liable for
damages, fines and penalties for such losses under applicable
regulatory frameworks (as discussed in “The
regulatory framework around data custody, data privacy and breaches
varies by jurisdiction and involves complex and rigorous regulatory
standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the U.S.
and elsewhere.”
below) despite not handling the data. Furthermore, if a high
profile security breach or cyber-attack occurs with respect to
another provider of mission-critical data center facilities, our
customers and potential customers may lose trust in the security of
these business models generally, which could harm our ability to
retain existing customers or attract new ones. We cannot guarantee
that any backup systems, regular data backups, security protocols,
network protection mechanisms and other procedures currently in
place, or that may be in place in the future, will be adequate to
prevent network and service interruption, system failure, damage to
one or more of our systems or data loss in the event of a security
breach or attack on our facilities.
We may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities related to
properties or businesses that we acquire for which we may have
limited or no recourse against the sellers.
Assets and entities that we have acquired or may acquire in the
future may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities for
which we may have limited or no recourse against the sellers.
Unknown or contingent liabilities might include liabilities for
clean-up or remediation of environmental conditions, claims of
customers, vendors or other persons dealing with the acquired
entities, tax liabilities and other liabilities whether incurred in
the ordinary course of business or otherwise. In the future, we may
enter into transactions with limited representations and warranties
or with representations and warranties that do not survive the
closing of the transactions, in which event we would have no or
limited recourse against the sellers of such properties. While we
usually require the sellers to indemnify us and they obtain
representation and warranty insurance, with
respect to breaches of representations and warranties that survive
the closing, such indemnification, if obtained, is often limited
and subject to various materiality thresholds, a significant
deductible, an aggregate cap on losses or a survival
period.
As a result, there is no guarantee that we will recover any amounts
with respect to losses due to breaches by the sellers of their
representations and warranties. In addition, the total amount of
costs and expenses that we may incur with respect to liabilities
associated with acquired properties and entities may exceed our
expectations, which may adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations. Finally, indemnification
agreements between us and the sellers typically provide that the
sellers will retain certain specified liabilities relating to the
assets and entities acquired by us. While the sellers are generally
contractually obligated to pay all losses and other expenses
relating to such retained liabilities, there can be no guarantee
that such arrangements will not require us to incur losses or other
expenses as well.
Recent turnover, including the search for a permanent President and
CEO, or the further loss, of any of our key personnel, including
our executive officers or key sales associates, could adversely
affect our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock.
As previously disclosed, we experienced significant turnover in our
executive officers in 2020, including the departure or retirement
of our CEO, President of Europe, CFO and Chief Technology Officer
and the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer, and 2021,
including the departure of our CEO. In July 2021, the Company
appointed a new President and CEO on an interim basis while the
Board undertakes a search to identify the Company’s next President
and Chief Executive Officer. Our success will depend to a
significant extent on attracting a qualified permanent President
and CEO as well as our executive officers, including those
appointed in 2020 and 2021, and key sales associates. Each of our
executive officers, including our interim President and CEO, has a
national or regional industry reputation that attracts business and
investment opportunities and assists us in negotiations with
existing and potential customers, investors, lenders and industry
personnel. The loss of key sales associates could also hinder our
ability to continue to benefit from existing and potential
customers. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to
attract a qualified permanent President and CEO and retain our
current executive officers or key sales associates. The loss of any
of these individuals, the Board’s search for a permanent President
and CEO (and any related speculation and uncertainty regarding the
Company, including its future business strategy and direction in
connection with that search), or the recent turnover of executive
officers could adversely affect our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock.
Any failure of our connectivity solutions could lead to significant
costs and disruptions that could reduce our revenue and harm our
business reputation and financial results.
As described in Part I, Item 1 "Business", we have deployed
connectivity solutions including the National IX Platform
throughout several of our properties, and expect that we will
further deploy these solutions throughout our portfolio to meet
customer demand. The National IX Platform and other connectivity
solutions allow our customers to connect to third-party carriers
and other customers. We may be required to incur substantial
additional costs to operate and expand the National IX Platform.
The National IX Platform is subject to failure resulting from
numerous factors, including but not limited to:
•human
error;
•equipment
failure;
•physical,
electronic, and cyber-security breaches;
•fire,
earthquake, hurricane, flood, tornado and other natural disasters
in our facilities;
•failure
to properly connect to third-party carriers or other
customers;
•fiber
cuts;
•power
loss;
•terrorist
acts;
•sabotage
and vandalism; and
•failure
of business partners who provide components of the National IX
Platform or third-party connectivity from the National IX
Platform.
Problems with the National IX Platform or other connectivity
solutions, whether or not within our control, could result in
service interruptions or significant equipment damage. We have
service level commitment obligations to certain of our customers,
including our significant customers. As a result, service
interruptions in the National IX Platform or in other connectivity
solutions could result in difficulty maintaining service level
commitments to these customers and in potential claims related to
such failures. In addition, any loss of service, equipment damage
or inability to meet our service level commitment obligations could
reduce the confidence of our customers and could consequently
impair our ability to obtain and retain customers, which would
adversely affect both our ability to generate revenues and our
operating results.
Even if we have additional space available for lease at any one of
our data centers, our ability to meet existing customer
requirements or lease this space to existing or new customers could
be constrained by our ability to provide sufficient electrical
power and cooling capacity.
Customers are increasing their deployment of high-density IT
equipment in our data centers, which has increased the demand for
power and cooling capacity. As current and future customers
increase their power footprint in our facilities over time, we may
be required to upgrade our existing infrastructure or add
additional infrastructure to meet customer requirements. Power and
cooling systems are difficult and expensive to upgrade or install,
and such changes may be required at a time or on a timeline during
which we lack the financial or operational ability to make such
changes. Further, our ability to add additional power could be
limited by third party factors such as utility providers, as well
as obtaining required permits or approvals. Our failure to timely
upgrade or add additional infrastructure could result in a failure
to meet the requirements of our existing customers, or limit our
ability to increase occupancy rates or density within our existing
facilities, whether for new or existing customers. Similarly, even
when successful in implementing such changes, we may not be able to
pass on any additional costs to our customers.
Any losses to our properties that are not covered by insurance, or
that exceed our coverage limits, could adversely affect our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
The properties in our portfolio are subject to risks, including
from causes related to riots, war, terrorism or acts of God. For
example, our properties located in Texas are generally subject to
risks related to tropical storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and
other severe weather or natural events and our properties located
in the Midwest are generally subject to risks related to
earthquakes, tornadoes and other severe weather. Our property in
Santa Clara, California is subject to risks related to earthquakes
and severe weather or natural events. All our properties could have
unknown title defects or encumbrances. While we carry commercial
property insurance including business interruption, flood and earth
movement covering all of the properties in our portfolio, and title
insurance on a substantial number of our properties, the amount of
insurance coverage may not be sufficient to fully cover losses we
may incur.
If we experience a loss that is uninsured or exceeds our policy
coverage limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged
properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those
properties. In addition, if the damaged properties were subject to
recourse indebtedness, we could continue to be liable for the
indebtedness even if these properties were irreparably damaged or
subject of a loss.
In addition, even if a title defect or damage to our properties is
covered by insurance, a disruption of our business caused by a
casualty event may result in the loss of business or customers. The
business interruption insurance we carry may not fully compensate
us for the loss of business or customers due to an interruption
caused by a title defect or casualty event.
A failure of an insurance company to make payments to us upon an
event of loss covered by an insurance policy could adversely affect
our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock. We monitor our insurance carrier's financial
strength rating and financial size category by only placing
insurance with carriers who have an A.M. Best Rating of A- XII or
better. However, it can be difficult to evaluate the stability and
net assets or capitalization of insurance companies, and any
insurance company's ability to meet its claim payment
obligations.
We generate a substantial portion of our revenue from a small
number of metropolitan markets, which makes us more susceptible to
regional economic downturns.
Our properties are located in 16 distinct metropolitan markets (11
in the U.S.; European markets including Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
Dublin, The Republic of Ireland, Frankfurt, Germany, London, U.K.
and Paris, France). Seven of these U.S. markets - Cincinnati,
Dallas, Houston, New York Metro, Northern Virginia, Phoenix and San
Antonio - accounted for approximately 73% of our annualized rent as
of December 31, 2021. As such, we are potentially susceptible
to local economic conditions and the supply of, and demand for,
data center space in these markets. If there is a downturn in the
economy, a natural disaster or an oversupply of, or decrease in
demand for, data centers in these markets, our business could be
adversely affected to a greater extent than if we owned a real
estate portfolio that was more diversified in terms of both
geography and industry focus.
We are dependent upon third-party suppliers for power and certain
other services, and we are vulnerable to service failures of our
third-party suppliers and to price increases by such
suppliers.
We generally rely on third-party local utilities to provide power
to our data centers. We are therefore subject to an inherent risk
that such local utilities may fail to deliver such power in
adequate quantities or on a consistent basis, and our recourse
against
the local utility and ability to control such failures may be
limited. If power delivered from the local utility is insufficient
or interrupted, we would be required to provide power through the
operation of our on-site generators, generally at a significantly
higher operating cost than we would pay for an equivalent amount of
power from the local utility. We may not be able to pass on the
higher cost to our customers. In addition, if the generator power
were to fail, we would generally be subject to paying service level
credits to our customers, who may in certain instances of repeated
failures also have the right to terminate their leases.
Furthermore, any sustained loss of power could reduce the
confidence of our customers in our services thereby impairing our
ability to attract and retain customers, which would adversely
affect both our ability to generate revenues and our results of
operations.
In addition, even when power supplies are adequate, we may be
subject to pricing risks and unanticipated costs associated with
obtaining power from various utility companies. While we actively
seek to lock-in utility rates, many factors beyond our control may
increase the rate charged by the local utility. For instance,
municipal utilities in areas experiencing financial distress may
increase rates to compensate for financial shortfalls unrelated to
either the cost of production or the demand for electricity.
Utilities are and may be subject to increasing regulation that
could increase the costs of electricity, including wildfire
mitigation plans. Utilities may be dependent on, and be sensitive
to price increases for, a particular type of fuel, such as coal,
oil or natural gas. In addition, the price of these fuels and the
electricity generated from them could increase as a result of
proposed legislative measures related to climate change or efforts
to regulate carbon emissions. In any of these cases, increases in
the cost of power at any of our data centers could put those
locations at a competitive disadvantage relative to data centers
served by utilities that can provide less expensive power. These
pricing risks are particularly acute with respect to our customer
leases that are structured on a full-service gross basis, where the
customer pays a fixed amount for both colocation rental and power.
Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock could be adversely affected in the event of an
increase in utility rates under these leases, which, as of
December 31, 2021, accounted for approximately 19% of our
leased GSF, because we may be limited in our ability to pass on
such costs to these customers.
We depend on third parties to provide network connectivity to the
customers in our data centers, and any delays or disruptions in
connectivity may adversely affect our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
Our customers require internet connectivity and connectivity to the
fiber networks of multiple third-party telecommunications carriers.
In order for us to attract and retain customers, our data centers
need to provide sufficient access for customers to connect to those
carriers. While we provide space and facilities in our data centers
for carriers to locate their equipment and connect customers to
their networks, any carrier may elect not to offer its services
within our data centers or may elect to discontinue its service.
Furthermore, carriers may periodically experience business
difficulties which could affect their ability to provide
telecommunications services, or the service provided by a carrier
may be inadequate or of poor quality. If carriers were to terminate
connectivity within our data centers or if connectivity were to be
degraded or interrupted, it could put that data center at a
competitive disadvantage versus a competitor’s data center that
does provide adequate connectivity. A material loss of adequate
third-party connectivity could have an adverse effect on the
businesses of our customers and, in turn, our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
Furthermore, each new data center that we develop requires
significant amounts of capital to be expended by third-party
telecommunications carriers for the construction and operation of a
sophisticated redundant fiber network. The construction required to
connect multiple carrier facilities to our data centers is complex
and involves factors outside of our control, including regulatory
requirements, the availability of construction resources and
willing and able third-party telecommunications carriers and the
sufficiency of such carriers’ financial resources to fund the
construction. Additionally, hardware or fiber failures could cause
significant loss of connectivity. If we are unable to establish
highly diverse network connectivity to our data centers, or if such
network connectivity is materially delayed, is discontinued or is
subject to failure, our ability to attract new customers or retain
existing customers may be negatively affected and, as a result, our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends, as well as the market price of our
common stock, may be adversely affected.
The loss of access to key third-party technical service providers
and suppliers could adversely affect our current and any future
development projects.
Our success depends, to a significant degree, on having timely
access to certain key third-party technical providers who are in
limited supply and great demand, such as engineering firms and
construction contractors capable of developing our properties, and
to key suppliers of electrical and mechanical equipment that
complement the design of our data center facilities. For any future
development projects, we will continue to rely on these providers
and suppliers to develop and equip our data centers. Competition
for such technical expertise is intense, and there are a limited
number of electrical and mechanical equipment
suppliers that design and produce the equipment that we require. We
may not always have or retain access to such key service providers
and equipment suppliers, which could adversely affect our current
and any future development projects.
The long sales cycle for data center services may adversely affect
our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock.
A customer’s decision to lease space in one of our data centers and
to purchase additional services from us typically involves a
significant commitment of resources, significant contract
negotiations, and significant due diligence on the part of the
customer regarding the adequacy of our facilities, including the
adequacy of carrier connections. As a result, the sale of data
center space has a long sales cycle. Furthermore, we may expend
significant time and resources, and incur significant costs, in
pursuing a particular sale or customer that may not result in
revenue. Our inability to adequately manage the risks associated
with the data center sales cycle may adversely affect our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
We may be unable to identify and complete acquisitions and
successfully operate acquired properties.
We continually evaluate the market for available properties and may
acquire data centers or properties suited for data center
development when opportunities exist. Our ability to complete
acquisitions on favorable terms and to successfully develop and
operate acquired properties involves significant risks,
including:
•we
may be unable to acquire a desired property because of competition
from other data center companies or real estate
investors;
•even
if we are able to acquire a desired property, competition from
other potential acquirers may significantly increase the purchase
price of such property;
•we
may be unable to realize the intended benefits from acquisitions or
achieve anticipated operating or financial results;
•we
may be unable to finance the acquisition on favorable terms or at
all;
•we
may underestimate the costs to make necessary improvements to
acquired properties;
•we
may be unable to quickly and efficiently integrate new acquisitions
into our existing operations resulting in disruptions to our
operations or the diversion of our management’s
attention;
•acquired
properties may be subject to reassessment, which may result in
higher than expected tax payments;
•we
may not be able to access sufficient power on favorable terms or at
all;
•market
conditions may result in higher than expected vacancy rates and
lower than expected rental rates;
•we
may incur impairment losses or other charges related to acquired
assets or properties;
•we
may face challenges in retaining the customers of acquired
properties; and
•we
may incur significant costs associated with unrealized
transactions.
Many of these risks will be outside of our control and any one of
them could result in increased costs, decreases in the amount of
expected revenue, and diversion of our management's time and
energy, which could adversely affect our business, financial
condition and results of operations. In addition, even if we
successfully operate acquired properties, we may not realize the
full benefits of the acquisition, including the synergies,
operating efficiencies, or sales or growth opportunities that are
expected. If we are unable to successfully acquire, develop and
operate data center properties, our ability to grow our business
and compete will be significantly impaired, which could adversely
affect our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock.
We face risks with our international acquisitions associated with
investing in unfamiliar metropolitan areas.
We have acquired and may continue to acquire properties on a
strategic and selective basis in international metropolitan areas
that are new to us. For example, since 2018 we have entered new
European markets, including Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Madrid
and Paris. When we acquire properties located in new markets, we
may face risks associated with a lack of market knowledge or
understanding of the local economy and culture, forging new
business relationships in the area and unfamiliarity with local
government and permitting procedures. In addition, due diligence,
transaction and structuring costs may be higher than those we may
face in the United States. We work to mitigate such risks through
extensive diligence and research and associations with experienced
partners; however, we cannot assure you that such risks can be
reduced or eliminated.
We have been and may become subject to or involved in litigation,
threatened litigation, or investigations which may divert
management time and attention, require us to pay damages, penalties
and expenses or may restrict the operation of our business or
interfere with existing agreements or permits.
We have been and may become subject to disputes with commercial and
other parties with whom we maintain relationships or other parties
with whom we do business, including as a result of any breach in
our security systems or downtime in our critical
electrical and cooling systems. Any such dispute could result in
litigation between us and the other parties. Whether or not any
dispute actually proceeds to litigation, we may be required to
devote significant management time and attention to its resolution
(through litigation, settlement or otherwise), which would detract
from our management’s ability to focus on our business. Any such
resolution could involve the payment of damages or expenses by us,
which may be significant, and could involve our agreement with
terms that restrict the operation of our business. In addition,
internal and external investigations could require significant
management time and attention and result in fines and penalties,
which may be significant, as well as reputational
harm.
Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack
of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on co-venturers’
financial condition and disputes between us and our
co-venturers.
We have and may in the future co-invest with third parties through
partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring
non-controlling interests in or sharing responsibility for managing
the affairs of a property, partnership, joint venture or other
entity. In these events, we are not or would not be in a position
to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the property,
partnership, joint venture or other entity. Investments in
partnerships, joint ventures, or other entities may, under certain
circumstances, involve risks not present when a third party is not
involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers
might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required
capital contributions. Partners or co-venturers may have economic,
tax or other business interests or goals which are inconsistent
with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to
take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Our current
and future joint venture partners may take actions that are not
within our control, which could require us to dispose of the joint
venture asset or transfer it to a taxable REIT subsidiary in order
for CyrusOne Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. Such
investments may also lead to impasses, for example, as to whether
to sell a property, because neither we nor the partner or
co-venturer would have full control over the partnership or joint
venture. Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may
result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our
expenses and prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing
their time and effort on our day-to-day business. Consequently,
actions by or disputes with partners or co-venturers may subject
properties owned by the partnership or joint venture to additional
risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for
the actions of third-party partners or co-venturers. Each of these
factors may result in returns on these investments being less than
we expect or in losses and our financial and operating results may
be adversely affected.
Our properties are not suitable for use other than as data centers,
which could make it difficult to sell or reposition them if we are
not able to lease available space.
Our data centers are designed solely to house and support computer
servers and related information technology equipment and,
therefore, contain extensive electrical and mechanical systems and
infrastructure. As a result, they are not suited for use by
customers as anything other than as data centers and major
renovations and expenditures would be required in order for us to
re-lease vacant space for more traditional commercial or industrial
uses, or for us to sell a property to a buyer for use other than as
a data center, which could materially adversely affect our
business, financial condition and results of operations, cash
flows, our ability to pay dividends, and/or the market price of our
common stock.
Declining real estate valuations and impairment charges could
adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.
We review the carrying value of each of our properties when events
or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the property
may not be recoverable. Examples of such indicators may include a
significant decrease in market price, a significant adverse change
in the extent to or manner in which the property is being used or
in its physical condition, an accumulation of costs significantly
in excess of the amount originally expected for the acquisition or
development, or a history of operating or cash flow losses. When
such impairment indicators exist, we review an estimate of the
undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of
the real estate investment and proceeds from its eventual
disposition and compare such amount to the carrying value of the
property. We consider factors such as future operating income,
trends and prospects, as well as the effects of leasing demand,
rental rates, competition and other factors. If our undiscounted
cash flows indicate that we are unable to recover the carrying
value of a real estate investment, an impairment loss is recorded
to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair
value of the property. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we
recorded an impairment charge of $0.5 million. For the year
ended December 31, 2020, we recorded an impairment charge of
$11.2 million, which includes an $8.8 million impairment loss
due to the decrease in the fair value of the equipment held for use
in inventory at our U.S. data centers and a $2.4 million impairment
loss based on the estimated fair value for our investment in land
held in Atlanta for future development as the Company sold this
land to a third-party in February 2021. For the year ended December
31, 2019, we recorded an impairment charge of $0.7 million related
primarily to an impairment on our South Bend -
Monroe
facility, which was being actively marketed for sale.
These losses had a direct impact on our net income because
recording an impairment loss results in an immediate negative
adjustment to net income. The evaluation of anticipated cash flows
is highly subjective and is based in part on assumptions regarding
future occupancy, rental rates and capital requirements that could
differ materially from actual results in future periods. A
worsening real estate market may cause us to re-evaluate the
assumptions used in our
impairment analysis. Impairment charges could adversely affect our
business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows
and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our
common stock.
Risks Related to the Real Estate Industry
Our performance and value are subject to risks associated with real
estate assets and with the real estate industry.
Our ability to make expected distributions to our stockholders
depends on our ability to generate revenues in excess of expenses,
scheduled principal payments on debt and capital expenditure
requirements. Events and conditions generally applicable to owners
and operators of real property that are beyond our control, such as
adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, may decrease cash
available for distribution to our stockholders and the value of our
properties. These events and conditions include:
•local
oversupply, increased competition or reduction in demand for
technology-related space;
•inability
to collect rent and reimbursements from customers;
•vacancies
or our inability to lease space on favorable terms;
•inability
to finance property development and acquisitions on favorable
terms;
•increased
operating costs to the extent not paid for by our
customers;
•costs
of complying with changes in governmental regulations;
•the
relative illiquidity of real estate investments, especially the
specialized real estate properties that we hold and seek to acquire
and develop; and
•changing
market demographics.
Illiquidity of real estate investments, particularly our data
centers, could significantly impede our ability to respond to
adverse changes in the performance of our properties, which could
harm our financial condition.
Because real estate investments are relatively illiquid, our
ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in
response to adverse changes in the real estate market or in the
performance of such properties may be limited, thus harming our
financial condition. The real estate market is affected by many
factors that are beyond our control, including:
•adverse
changes in national and local economic and market conditions,
including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
•inflation,
changes in interest rates and in the availability, cost and terms
of debt financing;
•changes
in governmental laws and regulations, fiscal policies and zoning
ordinances and costs of compliance therewith;
•the
ongoing cost of capital improvements that are not passed on to our
customers, particularly in older structures;
•changes
in operating expenses; and
•civil
unrest, acts of war, terrorism and natural disasters, including
fires, earthquakes, tropical storms, hurricanes, and floods, which
may result in uninsured and underinsured losses.
In addition, as described above in “Our
properties are not suitable for use other than as data centers,
which could make it difficult to sell or reposition them if we are
not able to lease available space”,
the risks associated with the illiquidity of real estate
investments are even greater for our data center properties.
Further, we operate a managed services platform-based business that
would not easily be separated on an asset by asset
basis.
We could incur significant costs related to environmental
matters.
We are subject to laws and regulations relating to the protection
of the environment, including those governing, as it permits, the
management and disposal of hazardous materials, the cleanup of
contaminated sites and health and safety matters. We could incur
significant costs, including fines, penalties and other sanctions,
cleanup costs and third-party claims for property damages or
personal injuries, as a result of violations of or liabilities
under environmental laws and regulations. Some environmental laws
impose liability on current owners or operators of property
regardless of fault or the lawfulness of past disposal activities.
For example, many of our sites contain above ground fuel storage
tanks and, in some cases, currently contain or formerly contained
underground fuel storage tanks, for back-up generator use. Some of
our sites also have a history of previous commercial operations. We
also may acquire or develop sites in the future with unknown
environmental conditions from historical operations. Although we
are not aware of any sites at which we currently have material
remedial obligations, the imposition of remedial obligations as a
result of spills or the discovery of contaminants in the future
could result in significant additional costs. We also could incur
significant costs complying with current environmental laws or
regulations or those that are promulgated in the
future.
Risks Related to Our Debt and Capital Structure
To fund our growth strategy and refinance our indebtedness, we
depend on external sources of capital, which may not be available
to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
In order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required
under the Code, among other things, to distribute at least 90% of
our REIT taxable income annually, determined without regard to the
dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gains. Even
if we maintain our qualification as a REIT, we will be subject to
U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates to the extent
that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income,
determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and
including any net capital gains, as well as U.S. federal income tax
at regular corporate rates for income recognized by our taxable
REIT subsidiaries (each, a TRS). Because of these distribution
requirements, we will likely not be able to fund future capital
needs, including any necessary acquisition financing, from net cash
provided by operating activities. Consequently, we intend to rely
on third-party capital markets sources for debt or equity financing
to fund our growth strategy. In addition, we may need third-party
capital markets sources to refinance our indebtedness at or before
maturity. Increased turbulence in the U.S., European and other
international financial markets and economies, loss of our
investment grade credit rating, tighter credit conditions and
increasing interest rates may adversely affect our ability to
replace or renew maturing liabilities on a timely basis, access the
capital markets to meet liquidity and capital expenditure
requirements and may result in adverse effects on our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common stock.
As such, we may not be able to obtain the debt or equity financing
on favorable terms or at all. Our access to third-party sources of
capital also depends, in part, on:
•our
investment grade credit rating;
•the
market’s perception of our growth potential;
•our
then-current debt levels;
•market
demand for REIT assets;
•our
historical and expected future earnings, cash flow and cash
distributions;
•the
market price per share of our common stock; and
•our
lenders' ability to meet their financing commitments.
In addition, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we have agreed to
various specific restrictions relating to the conduct of our
business between the date of the Merger Agreement and the time at
which the Merger becomes effective, including but not limited to,
agreeing to not to (i) issue or sell shares of our capital stock,
partnership interests or other equity or voting interests, (ii)
issue or sell any debt securities or warrants or other rights to
acquire any debt securities of us and our wholly owned subsidiaries
and (iii) incur or assume any indebtedness, in each case subject to
the terms of the Merger Agreements and any exceptions set forth
therein.
Our ability to access additional capital may also be limited by the
terms of our then-existing indebtedness which may restrict our
incurrence of additional debt. If we cannot obtain capital when
needed, we may not be able to acquire or develop properties when
strategic opportunities arise or refinance our debt at or before
maturity, and we may need to increase our liquidity by disposing of
properties possibly on disadvantageous terms or renewing leases on
less favorable terms than we otherwise would, which could adversely
affect our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock.
We have significant outstanding indebtedness that involves
significant debt service obligations, limits our operational and
financial flexibility, exposes us to interest rate fluctuations and
exposes us to the risk of default under our debt
obligations.
As of December 31, 2021, we had a total combined indebtedness,
including finance lease liabilities and operating lease
liabilities, of approximately $3.8 billion. As of December 31,
2021, we have the ability to borrow up to an additional
approximately $1.4 billion under our Amended Credit Agreement, net
of outstanding letters of credit of approximately $8.4 million,
subject to satisfying certain financial tests. Our Amended Credit
Agreement also contains an accordion feature that, as of
December 31, 2021, allows the operating partnership to request
an increase in the total commitment by up to $1.5 billion. There
are no limits on the amount of indebtedness we may incur other than
limits contained in the indentures governing our 2024 Notes, 2027
Notes, 2028 Notes, 2029 Notes and 2030 Notes (each as defined in
Note 11, Debt), our Amended Credit Agreement or future agreements
that we may enter into or as may be set forth in any policy
limiting the amount of indebtedness we may incur adopted by
CyrusOne’s board of directors. A substantial level of indebtedness
could have adverse consequences for our business, financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay
dividends as well as the market price of our common stock because
it could, among other things:
• require us to dedicate a substantial
portion of our cash flow from operations to make principal and
interest payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing our cash
flow available to fund working capital, capital expenditures,
acquisitions, investments and other general corporate purposes,
including to make distributions on our common stock as currently
contemplated or as necessary to maintain our qualification as a
REIT;
• require us to maintain certain debt
coverage and other financial metrics at specified levels, thereby
reducing our financial flexibility and, in the event of a failure
to comply with such requirements, creating the risk of a material
adverse effect on our ability to fulfill our obligations under our
debt and on our business and prospects generally;
•make
it more difficult for us to satisfy our financial obligations,
including borrowings under the Amended Credit
Agreement;
• increase our vulnerability to general
adverse economic and industry conditions;
• expose us to increases in interest rates
for our variable rate debt;
• limit our ability to borrow additional
funds on favorable terms or at all to expand our business or ease
liquidity constraints;
• limit our ability to refinance all or a
portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity on the same or
more favorable terms or at all;
• limit our flexibility in planning for, or
reacting to, changes in our business and our industry;
• place us at a competitive disadvantage
relative to competitors that have less indebtedness;
• increase our risk of property losses as
the result of foreclosure actions initiated by lenders in the event
we should incur mortgage or other secured debt obligations;
and
• require us to dispose of one or more of
our properties at disadvantageous prices or raise equity that may
dilute the value of our common stock in order to service our
indebtedness or to raise additional funds to pay such indebtedness
at or before maturity.
Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes and our
increased exposure to foreign currency fluctuations as a result of
our foreign currency hedging activities may adversely affect our
results of operations.
We seek to manage our exposure to interest rate volatility by using
interest rate hedging arrangements, such as floating-fixed interest
rate swaps. These arrangements involve risks, such as the risk that
counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these
arrangements and that these arrangements may not be effective in
reducing our exposure to interest rate changes. Approximately 14%
of our total indebtedness as of December 31, 2021 was subject
to variable interest rates but not subject to interest rate swaps.
Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may
materially adversely affect our results of operations.
We also currently have and may decide in the future to further
undertake foreign exchange hedging transactions. As a result of
investments denominated in foreign currencies, including Euros and
British pounds sterling from our increased presence in Europe and
the United Kingdom, as well as our €500.0 million aggregate
principal amount of 1.450% Senior Notes due 2027 and €500.0 million
aggregate principal amount of 1.125% Senior Notes due 2028, our
exposure to foreign currency has increased. We could mitigate
future investment and operational foreign currency exposure by
borrowing under our Amended Credit Agreement in the particular
foreign currency, subject to availability and applicable borrowing
conditions. However, we would expect to incur foreign currency
transaction gains and losses, which would impact our consolidated
net income, and translation of financial statements from the
foreign functional currency to U.S. dollars, which would be
included in other comprehensive income or loss and stockholders’
equity. In addition, we have entered into cross-currency swaps to
synthetically convert certain USD outstanding debt amounts to the
EUR equivalent, which has further increased our exposure to foreign
currency exchange rates. We have exposure to other foreign
currencies, such as British pound sterling, but we have not hedged
against those currencies. As a result, any changes in the strength
of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro or the other currencies of
the foreign countries in which we operate may have an impact on our
consolidated results of operations, including but not limited to
the fact that the fair value of our cross-currency swap liabilities
may increase and we may incur losses that would be immediately
recognized in earnings since those hedges are not designated. See
"Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" for a
further discussion of our interest rate and foreign currency
risks.
Discontinuation, reform or replacement of the London Interbank
Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other benchmark rates, or uncertainty
related to the potential for any of the foregoing, may adversely
affect our business.
Certain of our variable rate debt, including our Amended Credit
Agreement, uses LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing the interest
rate. See Note 11, Debt, to our audited consolidated financial
statements. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA")
announced in 2017 that it intended to phase out LIBOR by the end of
2021 and the administrator of LIBOR confirmed on March 5, 2021 that
it would cease publication of one-week and two-month USD LIBOR
settings at the end of 2021 and publication of the remaining
overnight and one-, three-, six- and 12-month USD LIBOR settings at
the end of June 2023. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee
(“ARCC”), which was convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the
New York Fed,
has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as the
recommended risk-free alternative rate for USD LIBOR. The extended
cessation date for most USD LIBOR tenors will allow for more time
for existing legacy USD LIBOR contracts to mature and provide
additional time to continue to prepare for the transition from
LIBOR. Discontinuation, reform or replacement of LIBOR or any other
benchmark rates may have an unpredictable impact on contractual
mechanics in the credit markets or cause disruption to the broader
financial markets. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential
discontinuation, reform or replacement may negatively impact the
cost of our variable rate debt.
Our credit facility was amended in March 2020 to provide that,
among other things, upon the occurrence of a Benchmark Transition
Event (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement and which
includes that the Eurodollar rate with respect to any applicable
currency has ceased or will cease to be provided or is no longer
representative) or an Early Opt-in Election (as defined in the
Amended Credit Agreement and which includes a determination by the
administrative agent or a notification by the required lenders to
the administrative agent that the required lenders have determined
that syndicated credit facilities in such currency being executed
at such time, or that include language similar to the benchmark
transition provisions in the Amended Credit Agreement are being
executed or amended to incorporate or adopt a new benchmark
interest rate to replace the Eurodollar rate loans denominated in
for such currency), as applicable, with respect to any currency,
the administrative agent and the Company may amend the Amended
Credit Agreement to replace the Eurodollar rate for loans
denominated in such currency (which, for loans denominated in USD
(our term loans and United States dollar revolver) and British
pounds sterling (Great Britain pound revolver) is LIBOR) with a
benchmark replacement (with respect to any currency, the sum of:
(a) the alternate benchmark rate (which, with respect to USD, may
be a rate based on SOFR) selected by the administrative agent and
the Company giving due consideration to (i) any selection or
recommendation of a replacement rate or the mechanism for
determining such a rate by the relevant governmental body and/or
(ii) any evolving or then-prevailing market convention for
determining a rate of interest as a replacement to the Eurodollar
rate for syndicated credit facilities in such currency and (b) the
benchmark replacement adjustment for such currency). Any such
amendment with respect to a Benchmark Transition Event becomes
effective at the specified time in such agreement so long as the
administrative agent has not received, by such time, written notice
of objection to such proposed amendment from lenders comprising the
required lenders; provided that, with respect to any proposed
amendment containing any SOFR-based rate, the lenders are only
entitled to object to the benchmark replacement adjustment
contained therein. Any such amendment with respect to an Early
Opt-in Election becomes effective on the date that lenders
comprising the required lenders have delivered to the
administrative agent written notice that such required lenders
accept such amendment. Although no Benchmark Transition Event or
Early Opt-in Election has occurred as of February 16, 2022, we may
not be able to reach agreement with our lenders on any such
amendments once it has. As a result, additional financing to
replace our LIBOR-based debt may be unavailable, more expensive or
restricted by the terms of our outstanding indebtedness. In
addition, any benchmark replacement may not be the economic
equivalent of LIBOR or not achieve market acceptance similar to
LIBOR, which could negatively impact the cost of our variable rate
debt. In particular, if the benchmark replacement is a SOFR-based
rate, risks related to SOFR include, but are not limited to, that
SOFR differs fundamentally from, and may not be a comparable
substitute for, USD LIBOR; SOFR may be discontinued or
fundamentally altered in a manner that is materially adverse to us;
and any failure of SOFR to gain market acceptance could adversely
affect us.
The agreements governing our indebtedness place significant
operational and financial restrictions on us, reducing our
operational flexibility and creating default risks.
The agreements governing our indebtedness contain covenants, and
the terms of any future agreements may contain covenants, that
place restrictions on us and our subsidiaries. These covenants
restrict, among other things, our and our subsidiaries’ ability
to:
• merge, consolidate or transfer all, or
substantially all, of our or our subsidiaries’ assets;
• incur or guarantee additional
indebtedness;
• create liens on our or our subsidiaries’
assets;
• pay dividends and make other distributions
on our stock;
• enter into transactions with
affiliates;
• issue or sell stock of our subsidiaries;
and
• change the nature of our
business.
These covenants could impair our ability to grow our business, take
advantage of attractive business opportunities or successfully
compete. These covenants could also impair our ability to plan for
or react to market conditions or meet capital needs, or our ability
to finance our operations, strategic acquisitions, investments or
alliances or other capital needs or to engage in other business
activities that would be in our interest. In addition, the
indentures governing our 2024 Notes, 2027 Notes, 2028 Notes, 2029
Notes, 2030 Notes and our Amended Credit Agreement require us to
maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy financial condition
tests. The indentures governing our 2024 Notes, 2027 Notes, 2028
Notes, 2029 Notes and 2030 Notes also require our operating
partnership and its subsidiaries to maintain total unencumbered
assets of at least 150% of the
aggregate principal amount of their outstanding unsecured
indebtedness on a consolidated basis. Our ability to comply with
these metrics or tests may be affected by events beyond our
control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry
conditions. A breach of any of these covenants or covenants under
any other agreements governing our indebtedness could result in an
event of default. Cross-default provisions in our debt agreements
could cause an event of default under one debt agreement to trigger
an event of default under our other debt agreements. Upon the
occurrence of an event of default under any of our debt agreements,
the lenders or holders thereof could elect to declare all
outstanding debt under such agreements to be immediately due and
payable. If we were unable to repay or refinance the accelerated
debt, the lenders or holders, as applicable, could proceed against
any assets pledged to secure that debt, including foreclosing on or
requiring the sale of our data centers, and our assets may not be
sufficient to repay such debt in full.
Risks Related to Our General Business
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and measures to prevent
its spread could materially adversely impact our business,
financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability
to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock.
The novel strain of the coronavirus identified in China in late
2019 has spread globally and resulted in authorities implementing
numerous measures to attempt to contain the virus, including travel
bans, shelter in place regulations and other restrictions and
shutdowns. There has been and continues to be considerable
uncertainty about the effects of these measures and how long they
will remain in effect, which could adversely impact our employees,
customers, vendors and suppliers resulting in a material adverse
effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock.
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while our data
centers have remained operational, we have modified our business
practices by temporarily closing our corporate headquarters and
regional locations, transitioned non-essential employees to working
remotely from their homes, implemented restrictions on the physical
participation in meetings and significantly limited business
travel, all of which have disrupted how we operate our business and
may remain in place for an indeterminate amount of time. To date,
our technology systems and infrastructure have effectively
supported our remote working activities but we cannot assure you
that our workforce will be able to continue to work effectively as
a result of such practices, or that our technological systems or
infrastructure will continue to be equipped to facilitate effective
remote working arrangements for our employees.
The effect of the pandemic and measures implemented by authorities
could disrupt our supply chain, including the provision of services
to us by our vendors and could result in restrictions on
construction activities. Such disruptions could impact the
operations of our data centers, our ability to meet delivery
timelines, including contracted delivery schedules with our
customers, and could lead to the closing of facilities, delays in
the commencement of leases, penalties for delay, potential lease
terminations and legal proceedings being brought against us. To
date our costs of operation have not significantly increased,
however, we may incur additional operating costs as a result of the
pandemic, the timing of which is uncertain and unpredictable, which
could materially increase our costs of operations.
The conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent
increases in COVID-19 cases in certain markets in the U.S. and
abroad in which we do business, also affect our customers and a few
customers have both moderately lengthened the time to remit
payments and negotiated rent abatements, which has not had a
significant impact to date but may increasingly impact the timing
and amount of rent we collect in the future. In addition, these
conditions may negatively impact the demand for colocation and our
services, delay the decision making of our customers, result in
defaults or otherwise impair our customers' ability to timely pay
us, as well as potentially impairing our ability to attract new
customers, all of which could adversely affect our future sales,
operating results, cash flows and overall financial performance.
More generally, government economic support to businesses and
individuals impacted by the pandemic has ceased or been reduced in
many areas and may not be renewed or be effective at alleviating
the abrupt economic deterioration experienced to date and both the
short-term and long-term impact of these actions on economic growth
is uncertain.
The effects of the pandemic have affected (and may continue to
adversely affect) the economies of countries where we do business,
including the United States and countries in Europe, and have also
caused (and may continue to cause) severe disruption and volatility
in the global capital markets, foreign exchange and interest rates.
The resulting economic downturn could adversely affect our and our
customers’ and suppliers’ businesses, financial conditions, results
of operations and growth prospects, and may adversely impact our
ability to issue equity, borrow or refinance debt and otherwise
access the capital markets to fund our business. If we cannot
obtain capital when needed on acceptable terms or at all, we may
not be able to develop or acquire properties when strategic
opportunities arise or refinance our debt at or before maturity,
and we may need to increase our liquidity by disposing of
properties possibly on disadvantageous terms or renewing leases on
less favorable terms than we otherwise would, which could adversely
affect our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and
ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of our common
stock. Moreover, our continued access to external sources of
liquidity also depends on our maintaining strong credit ratings. If
rating agencies lower our credit ratings, it could adversely affect
our ability to access the debt markets, our cost of funds and other
terms for new debt.
The duration and extent of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to depend on future developments that cannot be
accurately predicted at this time, such as the severity and
transmission rate of the virus and its variants, the extent and
effectiveness of containment actions, the distribution and
effectiveness of vaccines and therapeutic medicines, and the impact
of these and other factors on our employees, customers, suppliers
and vendors. If we are not able to respond to and manage the impact
of such events effectively, our business will be harmed. Moreover,
to the extent any of these risks and uncertainties adversely impact
us in the ways described above or otherwise, they may also have the
effect of heightening many of the other risks set forth in this
Part I, Item 1A.
Our international activities are subject to special risks different
from those faced by us in the United States, and we may not be able
to effectively manage our international business.
While our activities are primarily based in the United States,
since 2018 we have increased our presence in Europe, including in
Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, London and Paris. Expanding our
international activities involves risks not generally associated
with activities or investments in the United States,
including:
•compliance
with evolving and varied regulations related to the COVID-19
pandemic;
•our
limited knowledge of and relationships with sellers, customers,
contractors, suppliers or other parties in these
markets;
•complexity
and costs associated with staffing and managing international
development and operations;
•difficulty
in hiring qualified management, sales and construction personnel
and service providers in a timely fashion;
•problems
securing and maintaining the necessary physical and
telecommunications infrastructure;
•multiple,
conflicting and changing legal, regulatory, entitlement and
permitting, and tax and treaty environments with which we have
limited familiarity;
•exposure
to increased taxation, confiscation or expropriation;
•fluctuations
in foreign currency exchange rates, currency transfer restrictions
and limitations on our ability to distribute cash earned in foreign
jurisdictions to the United States;
•longer
payment cycles and problems collecting accounts
receivable;
•laws
and regulations on content distributed over the Internet that are
more restrictive than those in the United States;
•evolving
and uncertain local laws, policies, regulations and licenses,
including the implementation and enforcement thereof;
•difficulty
in enforcing agreements in non-U.S. jurisdictions, including those
entered into in connection with our acquisitions, or in the event
of a default by one or more of our customers, suppliers or
contractors;
•political
and economic instability, including sovereign credit risk, in
certain geographic regions;
•changes
resulting from Brexit, including those related to additional trade
agreements, tariffs and customs regulations and currency
fluctuations and potential price increases or unavailability of
supplies purchased from companies located in the European Union or
elsewhere;
•exposure
to restrictive foreign labor law practices;
•import
and export restrictions and other trade barriers, including
imposition of tariffs; and
•increased
trade tensions between countries or political and economic
unions.
Our inability to overcome these risks could adversely affect our
foreign operations, partnerships and growth prospects and could
harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price of
our common stock.
Any failure to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations
could have adverse effects on our business, financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock.
We are subject to laws and regulations concerning our business
operations, sales and marketing activities in the U.S. and foreign
countries where we conduct business. For example, we are subject to
the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, which
generally prohibits companies and any individuals or entities
acting on their behalf from offering or making improper payments or
providing benefits to foreign officials for the purpose of
obtaining or keeping business. We are also subject to various other
anti-bribery, anti-corruption and international trade laws in the
U.S. and certain foreign countries, such as the U.K. Bribery Act.
There is a risk that our employees, business partners and other
third parties could violate these laws, and we could be sanctioned
or held liable for actions taken by our employees, business
partners and other third parties with respect to our business. We
could incur significant expenses in investigating any potential
violation and could incur severe criminal or civil sanctions and/or
fines as a result of violations or settlements regarding such laws.
In addition, any allegations,
settlements or violations could materially and adversely impact our
reputation and our relationships with current and future customers,
suppliers, employees and business partners. Any such expenses,
sanctions, fines, allegations, settlements or violations could
adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of
operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the
market price of our common stock.
The ongoing trade conflict between the United States and the PRC
may negatively impact certain of our customers, which in turn could
materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results
of operations.
The United States has advocated for and taken steps toward
restricting trade in certain goods, particularly from the PRC. The
PRC and certain other countries have retaliated and may further
retaliate in response to new trade policies, treaties and tariffs
implemented by the United States. Any further actions to increase
existing tariffs or impose additional tariffs could result in an
escalation of the trade conflict and may have a material negative
impact on the economies of not just the United States and the PRC,
but the global economy as a whole. In May 2019, former President
Trump issued an executive order that invoked national emergency
economic powers to implement a framework to regulate the
acquisition or transfer of information and communications
technology and services (“ICTS”) in transactions that imposed undue
national security risks. The executive order is subject to
implementation by the Secretary of Commerce and applies to
contracts entered into prior to the effective date of the order. On
March 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an interim
final rule allowing it to identify, review, and prohibit ICTS
transactions that pose a national security risk, including
transactions involving specified countries, such as the PRC.
Several aspects of this rule remain unclear including the scope of
affected transactions and how the rule will be implemented and
enforced in practice. In addition, the U.S. Commerce Department has
implemented additional restrictions and may implement further
restrictions that would affect conducting business with certain PRC
companies. In June 2021, President Biden signed an executive order
that, among other things, calls for a “rigorous, evidence-based
analysis” of potential risks posed by apps designed, developed,
manufactured or supplied by the PRC and other “foreign adversaries”
and identifies the March 2019 executive order and its implementing
regulations as the primary tool for addressing the national
security risks posed by such apps and other ICTS products and
services. The executive order establishes app-specific factors that
should be evaluated as part of the Department of Commerce’s review
under the ICTS regulations to determine whether certain apps
present national security concerns. While we are currently unable
to predict whether the U.S. or other governments will impose any
further restrictions or extend these restrictions to other
industries, or the eventual impact of any such restrictions, the
aforementioned regulations and restrictions create uncertainty
around our customers that are controlled by PRC entities and our
customers’ ability to do business with PRC entities. If these
measures, tariffs and prohibitions affect any of our customers and
their business results and prospects, their demand for, or ability
to pay for, our data center services may decrease, which may
materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results
of operations.
The regulatory framework around data custody, data privacy and
breaches varies by jurisdiction and involves complex and rigorous
regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data
in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Data custody and privacy laws and regulations are complex and vary
by jurisdiction. We may not be able to limit our liability or
damages in the event of a loss of business or personal data. For
example, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation
(the "GDPR") became effective in 2018. The GDPR imposes additional
obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data
and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose
data is stored. Data protection legislation is also becoming common
in the United States at both the federal and state level and may
require us to further modify our data processing practices and
policies. For example, the state of California, where we expect
future development, adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of
2018, which took effect on January 1, 2020, and California voters
approved the California Privacy Rights Act in November 2020, which
will be effective January 1, 2023. These laws provide California
residents with increased privacy rights and protections with
respect to their personal information. Other states, including
Virginia where we operate data centers, have passed similar
legislation. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently
enacted data privacy laws and regulations can be costly; any
failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us
to legal and reputational risks. Misuse of, or failure to secure,
personal information could also result in violation of data privacy
laws and regulations, proceedings against the Company by
governmental entities or others, fines and penalties, damage to our
reputation and credibility and could have a negative impact on our
business, financial condition and results of
operations.
We may incur significant costs complying with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, or ADA, and similar laws, which could materially
adversely affect our financial condition and operating
results.
Under the ADA, all places of public accommodation must meet federal
requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. We have
not conducted an audit or investigation of all of our U.S.
properties to determine our compliance with the ADA. If one of our
U.S. properties is not in compliance with the ADA, we would be
required to incur additional costs to bring the property into
compliance. Additional federal, state and local laws may require
modifications to our properties, or restrict our ability to
renovate our properties. We cannot predict the ultimate amount of
the cost of compliance with the ADA or other legislation. If we
incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA and any other
similar legislation, our financial condition,
results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends as
well as the market price of our common stock could be materially
adversely affected.
We may be adversely affected by regulations or standards related to
climate change and other regulations.
If we, or other companies with which we do business, become subject
to existing or future laws and regulations or standards related to
climate change, our business could be impacted adversely. For
example, in the normal course of business, we enter into agreements
with providers of electric power for our data centers, and the
costs of electric power comprise a significant component of our
operating expenses. In addition, we may be required to incur
additional costs to acquire or upgrade our back-up generators to
obtain or continue to qualify for applicable permits. Changes in
regulations that affect electric power providers, such as
regulations related to the control of greenhouse gas emissions,
wildfire mitigation plans or other climate change related matters,
could adversely affect the costs of electric power and increase our
operating costs and may adversely affect our or our customers'
business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
as well as our ability to pay dividends and the market price of our
common stock.
Our properties are subject to various federal, state and local
regulations, such as state and local fire and life safety
regulations, as well as similar foreign regulations. For instance,
as discussed in “We
and our partners, contractors and vendors have been and may
continue to be vulnerable to security breaches, cyber-attacks or
terrorism which have disrupted and could disrupt our operations,
harm our brand and reputation and have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition and results of
operations”
above, regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA may have significant
impact on our operations. If we fail to comply with these various
regulations, we may be required to pay fines or private damage
awards. We do not know whether existing regulations will change or
whether future regulations will require us to make significant
unanticipated expenditures that may adversely affect our business,
financial condition and results of operations. With respect to
foreign regulations, we also face the risks described above in
“We
face risks with our international acquisitions associated with
investing in unfamiliar metropolitan areas”.
The failure to successfully implement changes to our information
technology system could adversely affect our business.
From time to time, we make changes to our information technology
system to meet our business and financial reporting needs.
Transitioning to new or upgraded systems can create difficulties,
including potential disruption to our financial reporting data,
security vulnerabilities and decreases in productivity until
personnel become familiar with new systems. In addition, our
management information systems will require modification and
refinement as we grow and as our business needs change, which could
prolong difficulties we experience with systems transitions, and we
may not always employ the most effective systems for our purposes.
If we experience difficulties in implementing new or upgraded
information systems or experience significant system failures, or
if we are unable to successfully modify our management information
systems and respond to changes in our business needs, our operating
results could be harmed or we may fail to meet our reporting
obligations.
Violations of our prohibition on harassment, sexual or otherwise,
could result in liabilities and/or litigation.
We prohibit harassment or discrimination in the workplace, whether
sexual harassment or any other form. This policy applies to all
aspects of employment. Notwithstanding our conducting training and
taking disciplinary action against alleged violations, we may
encounter additional costs from claims made and/or legal
proceedings brought against us. Any such claims or allegations, or
even just stories or rumors about such misconduct at the Company,
could also harm our reputation and therefore our business,
including our ability to recruit future employees or secure
contracts with new and existing customers, even if such allegations
do not result in any legal liability or direct financial
losses.
The expansion of social media platforms presents new risks and
challenges.
The inappropriate use of certain social media vehicles could cause
brand damage or information leakage or could lead to legal
implications from the improper collection and/or dissemination of
personally identifiable information or the improper dissemination
of material non-public information. In addition, negative posts or
comments about us on any social networking web site could seriously
damage our reputation. Further, the disclosure of non-public
company sensitive information through external media channels could
lead to information loss as there might not be structured processes
in place to secure and protect information. If our non-public
sensitive information is disclosed or if our reputation is
seriously damaged through social media, it could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of
operations, cash flows, and/or ordinary share price.
Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action
against our directors and officers are limited.
Maryland law provides that a director has no liability in the
capacity as a director if he or she performs his or her duties in
good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the
company’s best interests and with the care that an ordinarily
prudent person in a like position would use under similar
circumstances. As permitted by the Maryland General Corporation Law
(MGCL), our charter limits the liability of our directors and
officers to the company and our stockholders for money damages,
except for liability resulting from:
•actual
receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or
services; or
•a
final judgment based upon a finding of active and deliberate
dishonesty by the director or officer that was material to the
cause of action adjudicated.
In addition, our charter authorizes us to obligate the company, and
our bylaws require us, to indemnify our directors and officers for
actions taken by them in those capacities and to pay or reimburse
their reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a
proceeding to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, and we
have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and
executive officers. As a result, we and our stockholders may have
more limited rights against our directors and officers than might
otherwise exist under common law. Accordingly, in the event that
any of our directors or officers are exculpated from, or
indemnified against, liability but whose actions impede our
performance, our stockholders’ ability to recover damages from that
director or officer will be limited.
Our charter and bylaws and the partnership agreement of our
operating partnership contain provisions that may delay, defer or
prevent an acquisition of our common stock or a change in
control.
Our charter and bylaws and the partnership agreement contain a
number of provisions, the exercise or existence of which could
delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that
might involve a premium price for our stockholders or otherwise be
in their best interests, including the following:
•Our
Charter Contains Restrictions on the Ownership and Transfer of Our
Stock.
In order for us to qualify as a REIT, no more than 50% of the value
of outstanding shares of our stock may be owned, beneficially or
constructively, by five or fewer individuals at any time during the
last half of each taxable year other than the first year for which
we elect to be taxed as a REIT. Subject to certain exceptions, our
charter prohibits any stockholder from owning beneficially or
constructively more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares,
whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our
common stock, or 9.8% in value of the aggregate of the outstanding
shares of all classes or series of our stock. We refer to these
restrictions collectively as the “ownership limits.” The
constructive ownership rules under the Code are complex and may
cause the outstanding stock owned by a group of related individuals
or entities to be deemed to be constructively owned by one
individual or entity. As a result, the acquisition of less than
9.8% of our outstanding common stock or the outstanding shares of
all classes or series of our stock by an individual or entity could
cause that individual or entity or another individual or entity to
own constructively in excess of the relevant ownership limits. Our
charter also prohibits any person from owning shares of our stock
that would result in our being “closely held” under
Section 856(h) of the Code or otherwise cause us to fail to
qualify as a REIT. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our
common stock or of any of our other capital stock in violation of
these restrictions may result in the shares being automatically
transferred to a charitable trust or may be void. These ownership
limits may prevent a third-party from acquiring control of us if
our board of directors does not grant an exemption from the
ownership limits, even if our stockholders believe the change in
control is in their best interests. Although it is under no
continuing obligation to do so, our board of directors has granted
some limited exemptions from the ownership limits applicable to
certain holders of our common stock, subject to certain initial and
ongoing conditions designed to protect our status as a REIT,
including, if deemed advisable, the receipt of an Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) private letter ruling or an opinion of
counsel.
•Our
Board of Directors Has the Power to Cause Us to Issue Additional
Shares of Our Stock Without Stockholder Approval.
Our charter authorizes us to issue additional authorized but
unissued shares of common or preferred stock. In addition, our
board of directors may, without stockholder approval, amend our
charter to increase the aggregate number of our shares of common
stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that
we have authority to issue and classify or reclassify any unissued
shares of common or preferred stock and set the preferences, rights
and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a
result, our board of directors may establish a series of shares of
common or preferred stock that could delay or prevent a transaction
or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our
shares of common stock or otherwise be in the best interests of our
stockholders.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future with our
operating partnership or its partners.
Conflicts of interest exist or could arise in the future as a
result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the
one hand, and our operating partnership or any partner thereof, on
the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company
under applicable Maryland law in connection with their direction of
the management of our company. At the same time, we, as trustee,
have duties to CyrusOne GP, which, in turn, as general partner of
our operating partnership, has duties to our operating partnership
and to the limited partners under Maryland law in connection with
the management of our operating partnership. Under Maryland law,
the general partner of a Maryland limited partnership has fiduciary
duties of care and loyalty, and an obligation of good faith, to the
partnership and its partners. While these duties and obligations
cannot be eliminated entirely in the limited partnership agreement,
Maryland law permits the parties to a limited partnership agreement
to specify certain types or categories of activities that do not
violate the general partner’s duty of loyalty and to modify the
duty of care and obligation of good faith, so long as such
modifications are not unreasonable. These duties as general partner
of our operating partnership to the partnership and its partners
may come into conflict with the interests of our company. Under the
partnership agreement of our operating partnership, the limited
partners of our operating partnership expressly agree that the
general partner of our operating partnership is acting for the
benefit of the operating partnership, the limited partners of our
operating partnership and our stockholders, collectively. The
general partner is under no obligation to give priority to the
separate interests of the limited partners in deciding whether to
cause our operating partnership to take or decline to take any
actions. If there is a conflict between the interests of us or our
stockholders, on the one hand, and the interests of the limited
partners of our operating partnership, on the other, the
partnership agreement of our operating partnership provides that
any action or failure to act by the general partner that gives
priority to the separate interests of us or our stockholders that
does not result in a violation of the contractual rights of the
limited partners of our operating partnership under the partnership
agreement will not violate the duties that the general partner owes
to our operating partnership and its partners.
Additionally, the partnership agreement of our operating
partnership expressly limits our liability by providing that we and
our directors, officers, agents and employees will not be liable or
accountable to our operating partnership or its partners for money
damages. In addition, our operating partnership is required to
indemnify us, our directors, officers and employees, the general
partner and its trustees, officers and employees, employees of our
operating partnership and any other persons whom the general
partner may designate from and against any and all claims arising
from operations of our operating partnership in which any
indemnitee may be involved, or is threatened to be involved, as a
party or otherwise unless it is established by a final judgment
that the act or omission of the indemnitee constituted fraud,
intentional harm or gross negligence on the part of the indemnitee,
the claim is brought by the indemnitee (other than to enforce the
indemnitee’s rights to indemnification or advance of expenses) or
the indemnitee is found to be liable to our operating partnership,
and then only with respect to each such claim.
No reported decision of a Maryland appellate court has interpreted
provisions that are similar to the provisions of the partnership
agreement of our operating partnership that modify the fiduciary
duties of the general partner of our operating partnership, and we
have not obtained an opinion of counsel regarding the
enforceability of the provisions of the partnership agreement that
purport to waive or modify the fiduciary duties and obligations of
the general partner of our operating partnership.
In addition, the limited partnership agreement of our operating
partnership provides for the issuance of partnership units
designated as LTIP Units. While all of the issued and outstanding
operating partnership units were owned, directly or indirectly, by
the Company as of December 31, 2020, as a result of the
restructuring of our operating partnership, which was effective
February 1, 2021, 0.15% of the operating partnership units are now
held by a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and the
Compensation Committee of the Company may now grant awards to
participants in our Restated 2012 Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”)
that allows recipients to elect to receive their award in the form
of LTIP Units or restricted stock of the Company. LTIP Units will
dilute the Company’s interest (and therefore the interest of our
stockholders) in the assets of our operating partnership. LTIP
Units will have the right to vote on certain amendments to the
limited partnership agreement of our operating partnership, as well
as on certain other matters. Persons holding such voting rights may
exercise them in a manner that conflicts with the interests of our
stockholders. Furthermore, circumstances may arise in the future
when the interest of limited partners in our operating partnership
may conflict with the interest of our stockholders. For example,
the timing and terms of dispositions of properties held by our
operating partnership may result in tax consequences to certain
limited partners and not to our stockholders.
Certain provisions of Maryland law may limit the ability of a
third-party to acquire control of us.
Certain provisions of the MGCL may have the effect of inhibiting a
third-party from acquiring us or of impeding a change of control
under circumstances that otherwise could provide our common
stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium over the
then-prevailing market price of such shares,
including:
•“business
combination”
provisions that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business
combinations between an “interested stockholder” (defined generally
as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power
of our outstanding shares of voting stock or an affiliate or
associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year
period immediately prior to the date in question, was the
beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the then
outstanding stock of the corporation) or an affiliate of any
interested stockholder and us for five years after the most recent
date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder,
and thereafter imposes two super-majority stockholder voting
requirements on these combinations; and
•“control
share”
provisions that provide that holders of “control shares” of our
company (defined as voting shares of stock that, if aggregated with
all other shares of stock owned or controlled by the acquirer,
would entitle the acquirer to exercise one of three increasing
ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a
“control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect
acquisition of issued and outstanding “control shares”) have no
voting rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by
the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all of the votes
entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested
shares.
Pursuant to the Maryland Business Combination Act, our board of
directors has by resolution exempted from the provisions of the
Maryland Business Combination Act business combinations between any
other person and us, provided that such business combination is
first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of
our directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person).
Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Maryland Control
Share Acquisition Act any and all acquisitions by any person of
shares of our stock. There can be no assurance that these
exemptions or resolutions will not be amended or eliminated at any
time in the future.
Additionally, Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permits our board of
directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is
currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain
takeover defenses, such as a classified board, some of which we do
not have.
Our bylaws designate the Circuit Court for Baltimore City,
Maryland, as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of
actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders,
which could limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a
judicial forum that the stockholders believe is a more favorable
judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or
other employees.
Our bylaws provide that, subject to limited exceptions, the Circuit
Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, is the sole and
exclusive
forum for (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our
behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed
by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our
stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim against us or any of
our directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any
provision of the MGCL, our charter or our bylaws or (d) any action
asserting a claim against us or any of our directors, officers or
other employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
This provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim
in a judicial forum that it believes is more favorable for disputes
against us or our directors, officers or employees, which may
discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and
other employees.
Risks Related to Status as a REIT
If we fail to remain qualified as a REIT, we will be subject to
U.S. federal income tax as a regular corporation and could face a
substantial tax liability, which would reduce the amount of cash
available for distribution to our stockholders.
CyrusOne Inc. has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Code
commencing with our initial taxable year ending December 31, 2013.
We intend to continue to operate in a manner that will allow us to
remain qualified as a REIT. Our qualification as a REIT depends on
our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational,
distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a
continuing basis. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends
upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of
our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise
determination, and for which we do not obtain independent
appraisals.
We have received a private letter ruling from the IRS with respect
to certain issues relevant to our qualification as a REIT. In
general, the ruling provides, subject to the terms and conditions
contained therein, that certain structural components of our
properties (e.g., relating to the provision of electricity,
heating, ventilation and air conditioning, regulation of humidity,
security and fire protection, and telecommunications services) and
intangible assets, and certain services that we may provide,
directly or through subsidiaries, to our tenants, will not
adversely affect our qualification as a REIT. Although we may
generally rely upon the ruling, no assurance can be given that the
IRS will not challenge our qualification as a REIT on the basis of
other issues or facts outside the scope of the ruling.
If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we
would be subject to U.S. federal income tax, and could be subject
to U.S. Federal income tax for any open taxable years on our
taxable income at regular corporate rates, and dividends paid
to
our stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our
taxable income. Any resulting corporate tax liability could be
substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for
distribution to our stockholders, which in turn could have an
adverse impact on the value of our common stock. Unless we were
entitled to relief under certain Code provisions, we would also be
disqualified from re-electing to be taxed as a REIT for the four
taxable years following the year in which we failed to qualify as a
REIT.
Qualifying as a REIT involves highly technical and complex
provisions of the Code.
Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly
technical and complex Code provisions for which only limited
judicial and administrative authorities exist. Even a technical or
inadvertent violation could jeopardize our REIT qualification. Our
continued qualification as a REIT will depend on our satisfaction
of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder
ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. In
addition, our ability to satisfy the requirements to qualify as a
REIT may depend in part on the actions of third parties over which
we have no control or only limited influence, including in cases
where we own an equity interest in an entity that is classified as
a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability
to execute our business plan.
We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT
taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid
deduction and excluding any net capital gains, in order for us to
qualify as a REIT (assuming that certain other requirements are
also satisfied) so that U.S. federal corporate income tax does not
apply to earnings that we distribute. To the extent that we satisfy
this distribution requirement and qualify for taxation as a REIT
but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income,
determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and
including any net capital gains, we will be subject to U.S. federal
corporate income tax on our undistributed net taxable income and on
income recognized by our TRSs. In addition, we will be subject to a
4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we distribute
to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum
amount specified under U.S. federal tax laws. We intend to make
distributions to our stockholders to comply with the REIT
requirements of the Code.
From time to time, we may generate taxable income greater than our
cash flow as a result of differences in timing between the
recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash or the
effect of nondeductible capital expenditures, the creation of
reserves or required debt or amortization payments. If we do not
have other funds available in these situations, we could be
required to borrow funds on unfavorable terms, sell assets at
disadvantageous prices or distribute amounts that would otherwise
be invested in future acquisitions to make distributions sufficient
to enable us to pay out enough of our taxable income to satisfy the
REIT distribution requirement and to avoid corporate income tax and
the 4% excise tax in a particular year. These alternatives could
increase our costs or reduce our equity. Thus, compliance with the
REIT requirements may hinder our ability to grow, which could
adversely affect the value of our common stock.
Dividends payable by REITs generally do not qualify for the reduced
tax rates available for some dividends, but certain stockholders
may be entitled to deduct up to 20% of dividends payable by
REITs.
"Qualified dividend income" payable to U.S. stockholders that are
individuals, trusts or estates is generally subject to tax at
preferential rates, but dividends payable by REITs generally do not
constitute “qualified dividend income”. For taxable years beginning
after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, however, U.S.
stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates generally will
be entitled to deduct up to 20% of “qualified REIT dividends”. A
“qualified REIT dividend” is any dividend from a REIT received
during the taxable year that is not designated by the REIT as a
“capital gain dividend” or as “qualified dividend
income”.
Even if we remain qualified as a REIT, we may face other tax
liabilities that reduce our cash flow.
Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may be
subject to certain U.S. federal, state, local, and non-U.S. taxes
on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed net
taxable income and state, local, or non-U.S. income, property and
transfer taxes. For example, in order to meet the REIT
qualification requirements, we may hold some of our assets or
conduct certain of our activities through one or more TRS or other
subsidiary corporations that will be subject to federal, state, and
local corporate-level income taxes as regular C corporations. In
addition, we may incur a 100% excise tax on transactions with a TRS
if they are not conducted on an arm’s length basis. Moreover, we
are subject to income, withholding and other taxes in numerous
non-U.S. jurisdictions with respect to our income and operations
related to those jurisdictions. Our after-tax profitability could
be affected by numerous factors, including the availability of tax
credits, exemptions and other benefits to reduce our tax
liabilities, changes in the relative amount of our earnings subject
to tax in the various jurisdictions in which we operate, the
potential expansion of our business into or otherwise becoming
subject to tax in additional jurisdictions, changes to our existing
businesses and operations, the extent of our intercompany
transactions and the extent to which taxing
authorities in the relevant jurisdictions respect those
intercompany transactions. Any of these taxes would decrease cash
available for distribution to our stockholders.
Changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws and regulations, including
changes to tax rates, legislation and other actions may adversely
affect our results of operations.
We are headquartered in the United States with subsidiaries and
operations in Europe which are subject to income taxes in these
jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our
provision for income taxes and there is no assurance that
additional taxes will not be due upon audit of our tax returns or
as a result of changes to applicable tax laws. The governments of
many of the countries in which we operate may enact changes to the
tax laws of such countries, including changes to the corporate
recognition and taxation of worldwide income. The nature and timing
of any changes to each jurisdiction’s tax laws and the impact on
our future tax liabilities cannot be predicted and, as a result,
our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash
flows and ability to pay dividends, as well as the market price of
our common stock, may be adversely affected.
Certain property transfers may generate prohibited transaction
income, resulting in a penalty tax on gain attributable to the
transaction.
From time to time, we may transfer or otherwise dispose of some of
our properties, including the contribution of properties to our
joint venture funds.
Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, any gain
resulting from transfers of properties that we hold as inventory or
primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business
would be treated as income from a prohibited transaction subject to
a 100% penalty tax, unless a safe harbor exception applies. Since
we acquire properties for investment purposes, we do not believe
that our occasional transfers or disposals of property or our
contributions of properties into our joint ventures, are properly
treated as prohibited transactions. However, whether property is
held for investment purposes is a question of fact that depends on
all the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular
transaction. The IRS may contend that certain transfers or
disposals of properties by us or contributions of properties into
our joint ventures are prohibited transactions if they do not meet
the safe harbor requirements. While we believe that the IRS would
not prevail in any such dispute, if the IRS were to argue
successfully that a transfer or disposition or contribution of
property constituted a prohibited transaction, we would be required
to pay a 100% penalty tax on any gain allocable to us from the
prohibited transaction. In addition, income from a prohibited
transaction might adversely affect our ability to satisfy the
income tests for qualification as a real estate investment trust
for federal income tax purposes.
Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forgo otherwise
attractive opportunities.
To qualify as a REIT, we must ensure that, at the end of each
calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists
of cash, cash items, government securities and “real estate assets”
(as defined in the Code), including certain mortgage loans and
securities. The remainder of our investments (other than government
securities, qualified real estate assets and securities issued by a
TRS) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding
voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total
value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition,
in general, no more than 5% of the value of our total assets (other
than government securities, qualified real estate assets and
securities issued by a TRS) can consist of the securities of any
one issuer, and no more than 20% of the value of our total assets
can be represented by securities of one or more TRS. If we fail to
comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter,
we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the
calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions
to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax
consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate or forgo
otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the
effect of reducing our income and amounts available for
distribution to our stockholders.
In addition to the asset tests set forth above, to continue to
qualify as a REIT we must continually satisfy tests concerning,
among other things, the sources of our income, the amounts we
distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. We
may be unable to pursue investments that would be otherwise
advantageous to us in order to satisfy the source-of-income or
asset-diversification requirements for qualifying as a REIT. Thus,
compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to
make certain attractive investments.
Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge
effectively and may cause us to incur tax liabilities.
The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to
hedge our assets and liabilities. Any income from a hedging
transaction that we enter into to manage risk of interest rate
changes with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or
carry real estate assets does not constitute “gross income” for
purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income tests that apply to REITs,
provided that certain identification requirements are met. To the
extent that we enter into other types of hedging transactions or
fail to properly identify such transaction as a hedge, the income
is likely to be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of
both of the gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may
be required to limit our use of advantageous
hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. This
could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRS
may be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks
associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise
want to bear. In addition, losses in our TRS will generally not
provide any tax benefit, except that such losses may be carried
forward to offset future taxable income of the TRS.
Changes to U.S. federal income tax laws could materially and
adversely affect us and our stockholders.
The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of REITs and their
shareholders may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by
legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time, which
could affect the U.S. federal income tax treatment of an investment
in our shares. The U.S. federal income tax rules, including those
dealing with REITs, are constantly under review by persons involved
in the legislative process, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury
Department, which results in statutory changes as well as frequent
revisions to regulations and interpretations.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our cash available for distribution to stockholders may not be
sufficient to make distributions at expected levels, and we may
need to borrow in order to make such distributions; consequently,
we may not be able to make such distributions in full.
If cash available for distribution generated by our assets is less
than our estimate or if such cash available for distribution
decreases in future periods from expected levels, our inability to
make the expected distributions could result in a decrease in the
market price of our common stock. Distributions made by us will be
authorized and determined by our board of directors in its sole
discretion out of funds legally available therefor and will be
dependent upon a number of factors, including restrictions under
applicable law and our capital requirements. We may not be able to
make or sustain distributions in the future. To the extent that we
decide to make distributions in excess of our current and
accumulated earnings and profits, such distributions would
generally be considered a return of capital for U.S. federal income
tax purposes to the extent of the holder’s adjusted tax basis in
its shares. A return of capital is not taxable, but it has the
effect of reducing the holder’s adjusted tax basis in its
investment. To the extent that distributions exceed the adjusted
tax basis of a holder’s shares, they will be treated as gain from
the sale or exchange of such stock. If we borrow to fund
distributions, our future interest costs would increase, thereby
reducing our earnings and cash available for distribution from what
they otherwise would have been.
Future offerings of debt, which would be senior to our common stock
upon liquidation, and/or preferred equity securities, which may be
senior to our common stock for purposes of distributions or upon
liquidation, may adversely affect the market price of our common
stock.
In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by
making additional offerings of debt or preferred equity securities,
including medium-term notes, trust preferred securities, senior or
subordinated notes and preferred stock. Upon liquidation, holders
of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock and lenders
with respect to other borrowings will receive distributions of our
available assets prior to the holders of our common stock.
Additional equity offerings may dilute the holdings of our existing
stockholders or reduce the market price of our common stock, or
both. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive
rights or other protections against dilution. Our preferred stock,
if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions or
a preference on distribution payments that could limit our ability
to make a distribution to the holders of our common stock. Because
our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend
on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we
cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our
future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our
future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and
diluting their stock holdings in us.
Increases in market interest rates may cause potential investors to
seek higher dividend yields and therefore reduce demand for our
common stock and result in a decline in our stock
price.
One of the factors that may influence the price of our common stock
is the dividend yield on our common stock (the amount of dividends
as a percentage of the price of our common stock) relative to
market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates, which
are currently at low levels relative to historical rates, may lead
prospective purchasers of our common stock to expect a higher
dividend yield, which we may be unable or choose not to provide.
Higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and
potentially decrease the cash available for distribution. Thus,
higher market interest rates could cause the market price of our
common stock to decline.
The number of shares available for future sale could adversely
affect the market price of our common stock.
We cannot predict whether future issuances of shares of our common
stock or the availability of shares of our common stock for resale
in the open market will decrease the market price per share of our
common stock. Sales of a substantial number of
shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception
that such sales might occur, could adversely affect the market
price of the shares of our common stock. Physical settlement of
these forward sale agreements or other forward sale agreements in
the future have resulted or will result in dilution to our earnings
per share. During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company entered
into sales agreements pursuant to which the Company may issue and
sell from time to time shares of its common stock having an
aggregate sales price of up to $750.0 million (the "New 2018
ATM Stock Offering Program"). During the second quarter of 2020,
the Company entered into sales agreements pursuant to which the
Company may issue and sell from time to time shares of its common
stock having an aggregate sales price of up to $750.0 million
(the "2020 ATM Stock Offering Program"). The 2020 ATM Stock
Offering Program replaced the New 2018 ATM Stock Offering Program.
During the second quarter of 2021, the Company entered into sales
agreements pursuant to which the Company may issue and sell from
time to time shares of its common stock having an aggregate sales
price of up to $750.0 million (the "2021 ATM Stock Offering
Program" and, together with the New 2018 ATM Stock Offering Program
and 2020 ATM Stock Offering Program, the “ATM stock offering
program”). The 2021 ATM Stock Offering Program replaced the 2020
ATM Stock Offering Program. During the year ended December 31,
2021, the Company settled forward agreements totaling
8.4 million common shares at an average price of $70.84 for
proceeds of $593.7 million, net of expenses. In addition, we
have registered shares of common stock that were reserved for
issuance under our Restated 2012 Long Term Incentive Plan and under
our 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and these shares can
generally be freely sold in the public market, assuming any
applicable restrictions and vesting requirements are satisfied. If
any or all of these holders cause a large number of their shares to
be sold in the public market, the sales could reduce the trading
price of our common stock and could impede our ability to raise
future capital on terms acceptable to us or at all.
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be
volatile.
The market price of our common stock may be volatile. In addition,
the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause
significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our
common stock declines significantly, a holder may be unable to
resell shares at a profit or at all. We cannot provide any
assurance that the market price of our common stock will not
fluctuate or decline significantly in the future.
Some of the factors that could negatively affect the market price
of our common stock or result in fluctuations in the price or
trading volume of our common stock include:
•actual
or anticipated variations in our quarterly results of operations or
distributions;
•changes
in our funds from operations or earnings estimates;
•publication
of research reports about us or the real estate, technology or data
center industries;
•increases
in market interest rates that may cause purchasers of our shares to
demand a higher yield;
•changes
in market valuations of similar companies;
•adverse
market reaction to any additional debt we may incur in the
future;
•additions
or departures of key personnel;
•actions
by institutional stockholders;
•speculation
in the press or investment community about our company or industry
or the economy in general;
•the
occurrence of any of the other risk factors presented in this Form
10-K; and
•general
market and economic conditions, including economic conditions as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.
Our earnings and cash distributions will affect the market price of
shares of our common stock.
To the extent that the market value of a REIT’s equity securities
is based primarily upon market perception of the REIT’s growth
potential and its current and potential future cash distributions,
whether from operations, sales, acquisitions, development or
refinancing and is secondarily based upon the value of the
underlying assets, shares of our common stock may trade at prices
that are higher or lower than the net asset value per share. To the
extent we retain operating cash flow for investment purposes,
working capital reserves or other purposes rather than distributing
the cash flow to stockholders, these retained funds, while
increasing the value of our underlying assets, may negatively
impact the market price of our common stock. Our failure to meet
market expectations with regard to future earnings and cash
distributions would likely adversely affect the market price of our
common stock.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF
COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
The information set forth under the caption “Our Portfolio” in
Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by
reference herein.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In the ordinary course of our business, from time to time, we are
subject to claims and administrative proceedings. We do not believe
any currently outstanding matters would have, individually or in
the aggregate, a material effect on our business, financial
condition and results of operations or liquidity and cash
flows.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY
DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON
EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASE OF EQUITY
SECURITIES.
A)Market
Information
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under
the symbol “CONE”.
B)Holders
As of February 11, 2022, CyrusOne Inc. had 110 shareholders of
record and 129,563,290 outstanding shares.
C)Distribution
Policy
We have made distributions in the form of dividends each quarter
since the completion of our initial public offering ("IPO"). In
order to comply with the REIT requirements of the Code, we are
required to make quarterly distributions to our shareholders of at
least 90% of our taxable income. Distributions made by the Company
are determined by our board of directors in its sole discretion. If
we have underestimated our cash available for distribution, we may
need to increase our borrowings in order to fund our intended
distributions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our Amended Credit
Agreement and indentures restrict CyrusOne LP from making
distributions to holders of its operating partnership units, or
redeeming or otherwise repurchasing shares of its operating
partnership units, after the occurrence and during the continuance
of an event of default, except in limited circumstances including
as necessary to enable CyrusOne Inc. to maintain its qualification
as a REIT and to minimize the payment of income taxes.
D)Issuer
Purchases of Unregistered Securities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Period |
(a) Total Number of Shares of Common Stock
Purchased(1)
|
(b) Average Price Paid per Common Share |
(c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced
Plans or Programs |
(c) Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May
Yet be Purchased |
January 1, 2021 - January 31, 2021 |
675 |
|
$ |
71.72 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
February 1, 2021 - February 28, 2021 |
27,808 |
|
67.17 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
March 1, 2021 - March 31, 2021 |
106,540 |
|
65.17 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
May 1, 2021 - May 31, 2021 |
940 |
|
71.73 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
July 1, 2021 - July 31, 2021 |
780 |
|
71.27 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
August 1, 2021 - August 31, 2021 |
17 |
|
71.27 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
September 1, 2021 - September 30, 2021 |
7,460 |
|
76.56 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
November 1, 2021 - November 30, 2021 |
2,000 |
|
82.90 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
December 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021 |
29,241 |
|
89.41 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
|
175,461 |
|
$ |
70.30 |
|
N/A |
N/A |
(1) - Represents the common stock surrendered by employees to
CyrusOne to satisfy such employee's tax withholding obligations in
connection with the vesting of restricted stock.
E) Stock Performance
The following graph compares the cumulative total stockholder
return on CyrusOne Inc.’s common stock for the year ended
December 31, 2021, with the cumulative total return on the
S&P 500 Market Index and the MSCI US REIT Index (RMZ). The
comparison assumes that $100 was invested on December 31, 2016 in
CyrusOne Inc.’s common stock and in each of these indices and
assumes reinvestment of dividends, if any.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pricing Date |
CONE |
S&P 500 |
MSCI US REIT |
December 31, 2016 |
100.00 |
|
100.00 |
|
100.00 |
|
December 31, 2017 |
137.13 |
|
121.83 |
|
105.07 |
|
December 31, 2018 |
125.89 |
|
116.49 |
|
100.27 |
|
December 31, 2019 |
160.65 |
|
153.17 |
|
126.18 |
|
December 31, 2020 |
185.01 |
|
181.35 |
|
116.62 |
|
December 31, 2021 |
233.20 |
|
233.41 |
|
166.84 |
|
F) Recent Sales of Unregistered
Securities
None.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our
results of operations, financial condition and liquidity in
conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the
related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
("Form 10-K"). Some of the information contained in this discussion
and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report, including
information with respect to our plans and strategies for our
business, statements regarding the industry outlook, our
expectations regarding the future performance of our business and
the other non-historical statements contained herein are
forward-looking statements. See “Special Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements.” You should also review the “Risk
Factors” section of this report for a discussion of important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the results described herein or implied by such forward-looking
statements.
The consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-K
reflect the historical financial position, results of operations
and cash flows of CyrusOne Inc. (the "Company") for all periods
presented.
Overview
Our Company.
We are a fully integrated, self-managed data center real estate
investment trust ("REIT") that owns, operates and develops
enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, multi-tenant and single-tenant
data center properties. Our data centers are generally
purpose-built facilities with redundant power and cooling. They are
not network specific and enable customer connectivity to a range of
telecommunication carriers. We provide mission-critical data center
real estate assets that protect and ensure the continued operation
of information technology ("IT") infrastructure for approximately
1,000 customers in 56 data centers, including one recovery center,
in 16 markets (11 cities in the U.S.; London, U.K.; Frankfurt,
Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Dublin, The Republic of
Ireland and Paris, France).
We continue to monitor the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus
(COVID-19) and to take steps to mitigate the potential risks to us
posed by the pandemic. We provide a critical service to our
customers and are considered an essential business by most
governments. While the impact of the pandemic on our business has
not been significant to date, we are unable to predict its future
impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations,
cash flows and ability to pay dividends as well as the market price
of our common stock as discussed in the risk factors set forth in
Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Pending Acquisition by KKR and GIP
As previously announced, on November 14, 2021, the Company entered
into the Merger Agreement with Parent, and Merger Sub, pursuant to
which, subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement,
Merger Sub will be merged with and into the Company (also referred
to as the Merger), with the Company surviving the Merger as a
wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Parent and Merger Sub were
formed solely for the purpose of entering into the Merger Agreement
and related agreements and consummating the transactions
contemplated thereby, and Parent is controlled by funds affiliated
with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. ("KKR") and Global
Infrastructure Management, LLC ("GIP"). Subject to the terms and
conditions of the Merger Agreement, the outstanding shares of
common stock of the Company at the effective time of the Merger
will be acquired for $90.50 per share in an all-cash
transaction.
The Merger Transactions are subject to customary closing
conditions, including the receipt of the required regulatory
approvals and the satisfaction or waiver of the other conditions to
the Merger described in the Merger Agreement. The Merger
Transactions are expected to close during the second quarter of
2022, but there can be no assurances regarding whether the Merger
Transactions will close as expected, or at all. The Company's
stockholders voted to approve the Merger, the Merger Agreement and
the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement at a
special meeting of stockholders held for that purpose on February
1, 2022. Additionally, the waiting period applicable to the Merger
Transactions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act
of 1976, as amended, expired on December 29, 2021.
Our Portfolio
Our 56 data centers, including one recovery center, total 8.6
million Gross Square Feet ("GSF"), of which 83% of the Colocation
Square Feet ("CSF") is leased and has 984 megawatts ("MW") of power
capacity. This includes 12 buildings where we lease such facilities
comprising approximately 11% of our total GSF as of
December 31, 2021. Also included in our total GSF, CSF
and MW are pre-stabilized assets (which include data halls that
have been in service for less than 24 months or are less than 85%
leased) with approximately 400,090 GSF and 34% of the CSF is leased
with capacity of 43 MW of power.
In addition, we continue to invest primarily in global digital
gateway markets and have properties under development comprising
approximately 1.4 million GSF and 149 MW of power capacity. The
estimated remaining total costs to develop these properties is
projected to be between $643.0 million and
$730.0 million. The increase over the prior year is primarily
due to developments in Chicago, Houston and London. The final costs
to develop are likely to change depending on several
factors
including the customer capital improvements required based on the
future lease contracts executed on such properties. We also have
505 acres of land available for future data center
development.
Operational Overview
The following discussion provides an overview of our capital and
financing activity, operations and transactions for the year ended
December 31, 2021 and should be read in conjunction with the
full discussion of our operating results, liquidity and capital
resources included in this Form 10-K, as well as the risk factors
set forth in Part I, Item 1A.
Outlook
We seek to maximize the growth of long-term earnings and
shareholder value primarily through increasing cash flow at
existing properties and developing high-quality data center assets
and campuses at attractive yields with long-term, stable operating
income. In addition, the Company will, from time to time, acquire
existing properties which meet our strategic criteria, offer
in-place cash flow and have strong growth prospects.
Fundamental secular trends for data center real estate have
remained strong, including the exponential growth in global data,
the growth of e-commerce and demand for outsourcing of data storage
and cloud-based applications. Large cloud-based demand, in
particular, is strong in the U.S. and Europe. The favorable trends
have attracted new capital funding for multiple data center
platforms, including both public and private companies, leading to
significant increases in supply in most major markets in which we
operate. While demand remains robust, the supply outlook has led to
pricing pressure, particularly with large hyperscale customers that
are driving an increase in demand, which we expect to continue in
2022.
In terms of capital investment, we will continue to pursue
selective development of new data centers primarily in global
digital gateway markets where we project demand and market rental
rates will provide attractive financial returns.
We may, from time to time, selectively dispose of non-strategic
assets to recycle capital and enhance long-term growth in earnings
and cash flows, as well as to improve the overall quality of our
portfolio.
Our access to the investment grade debt capital markets is critical
to managing our business as a public company and we are committed
to maintaining our investment grade ratings and have a strong
balance sheet. As a result of the announcement of the pending
acquisition of the Company, credit ratings agencies have placed
CyrusOne’s ratings on negative credit watch due to uncertainty
regarding our growth strategy and leverage policy. Please see
“Liquidity and Capital Resources” for additional
information.
Inflation and Supply Chain Risks
The U.S. and European economies where we operate experienced
significant increases in inflation in 2021, however this inflation
did not have a significant impact on our business over this period.
We continue to monitor our supply chain costs, as increases in
inflation may adversely impact our business. However, the
availability of equipment and materials that support the
development and construction of our data centers has experienced
constraints on supplies resulting in increased lead times and is
leading to moderate increases in prices on equipment. Through our
supplier networks we have contracted at fixed prices for supply of
our future equipment needs, but continued supply chain constraints
may over time result in increased costs of our construction
projects. In addition, our business may be adversely impacted by
inflation as our customer leases generally do not provide for
annual increases in rent based on inflation. As a result, we bear
the risk of increases in the costs of operating and maintaining our
data center facilities. We are unable to predict future inflation
that may impact our business. Most of our leases have contractual
rent escalations, typically ranging from 1-3% per annum; in
addition most of our revenue from colocation contracts is
structured to pass-through the cost of sub-metered utilities. In
the future, we expect more of our leases to be structured to
pass-through utility costs. In addition, approximately 76% of our
leases, based on annualized rent, expire within six years and we
will be looking to replace existing leases with new leases at then
existing market rates.
Summary of Significant Transactions and Activities for the Year
Ended December 31, 2021
Real Estate Acquisitions, Development and Other
Activities
In January 2022, the Company entered into a definitive agreement
for the sale of its four Houston data center assets. Under the
terms of the agreement, the buyer will acquire the Houston West I,
II and III and Houston Galleria data centers from CyrusOne.
Additionally, at closing CyrusOne will lease back from the buyer of
the Houston West III shell to support a lease signed with a
hyperscale customer in the fourth quarter of 2021. Total
consideration for the transaction will be approximately $670.0
million, subject to a net working capital adjustment.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company purchased
approximately 35 acres of land for future development in Madrid,
Spain; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; San Antonio, Texas and
Frankfurt, Germany for a cost totaling $63.8 million.
In June 2021, the Company entered into lease amendments for the two
data center leases located in London, United Kingdom to extend the
lease terms. Per lease modification accounting rules under ASC 842,
these leases were classified as finance leases on the modification
effective date. Previously these leases were accounted as operating
leases. The finance lease asset and liability are presented in
Buildings and improvements and Finance lease liabilities in the
Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company purchased land
for future development in Frankfurt, Germany and London, United
Kingdom totaling 35 acres for $58.0 million. In March 2020, the
Company entered into a 25-year lease comprising a 45,000 square
feet building and commenced development of a 27 MW data center in
Paris, France which was preleased to a customer.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, cash capital
expenditures were $727.0 million, of which $702.6 million related
to the development and construction of data centers. We continue to
make a significant investment to build and develop data centers
which will require additional capital investment. The expansion and
development of additional power capacity and building square feet
during the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily related to
development in key markets, primarily in Northern Virginia,
Frankfurt, Phoenix, Dublin, London, Somerset, Paris, San Antonio
and Chicago.
Capital and Financing Activity
Financing Activity
Credit Facilities
As of December 31, 2021, we had $800.0 million outstanding
under the Amended Credit Agreement (as defined below) and $2.7
billion of senior notes. For more information, see Note 11,
Debt.
On March 31, 2020, CyrusOne LP, a Maryland limited partnership (the
“Operating Partnership”), and subsidiary of the Company, entered
into an amendment to its credit agreement, dated as of March 29,
2018 (as so amended, the “Amended Credit Agreement”), among the
Operating Partnership, as borrower, the lenders party thereto (the
“Lenders”) and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent
for the Lenders. Proceeds from the Amended Credit Agreement were
used, among other things, to refinance and replace the credit
facilities under the Company's prior credit agreement.
The Amended Credit Agreement provides for (i) a $1.4 billion senior
unsecured multi-currency revolving credit facility (the “Revolving
Credit Facility”), (ii) senior unsecured term loans due 2023 in a
dollar equivalent principal amount of $400.0 million (the “2023
Term Loan Facility”), and (iii) senior unsecured term loans due
2025 in a principal amount of $700.0 million (the “2025 Term Loan
Facility”). The Amended Credit Agreement also includes an accordion
feature pursuant to which the Operating Partnership is permitted to
obtain additional revolving or term loan commitments so long as the
aggregate principal amount of commitments and/or term loans under
the Amended Credit Agreement does not exceed $4.0 billion. The
Revolving Credit Facility provides for borrowings in U.S. Dollars,
Euros, Pounds Sterling, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars,
Japanese Yen, Hong Kong Dollars, Singapore Dollars and Swiss Francs
(subject to a sublimit of $750.0 million on borrowings in
currencies other than U.S. Dollars). The Revolving Credit Facility
matures on March 29, 2024 with one 12-month extension option. The
2023 Term Loan Facility matures on March 29, 2023 with two 1-year
extension options, and the 2025 Term Loan Facility matures on March
28, 2025.
Senior Debt
On May 26, 2021, CyrusOne Europe Finance DAC closed an offering of
€500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 1.125% senior notes
due May 2028 (the “2028 Notes”).
On January 22, 2020, CyrusOne LP and CyrusOne Finance Corp. closed
their offering of €500.0 million aggregate principal amount of
1.450% senior notes due January 2027 (the “2027
Notes”).
On September 21, 2020, CyrusOne LP and CyrusOne Finance Corp.
closed their offering of $400.0 million aggregate principal amount
of 2.150% senior notes due November 2030 (the “2030
Notes”).
Capital Activity
During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company entered into sales
agreements pursuant to which the Company may issue and sell from
time to time shares of its common stock having an aggregate sales
price of up to $750.0 million (the "2018 ATM Stock Offering
Program"). During the second quarter of 2020, the Company entered
into sales agreements pursuant to which the Company may issue and
sell from time to time shares of its common stock having an
aggregate sales price of up to $750.0 million (the "2020 ATM Stock
Offering Program"). The 2020 ATM Stock Offering Program replaced
the 2018 ATM Stock Offering Program. During the second quarter of
2021, the Company entered into sales agreements pursuant to which
the Company may issue and sell from time to time shares of its
common stock having an aggregate sales price of up to $750.0
million (the "2021 ATM Stock Offering Program"). The 2021 ATM Stock
Offering Program replaced the 2020 ATM Stock Offering
Program.
In November 2019, CyrusOne Inc.
entered into a forward equity sale agreement with a financial
institution acting as forward purchaser under the 2018 ATM Stock
Offering Program with respect to 1.6 million shares of its common
stock at an initial forward price of $61.67 per share. The Company
fully physically settled this forward equity sale agreement in June
2020. Upon settlement, the Company issued all such shares to such
financial institution in its capacity as forward purchaser, in
exchange for proceeds of approximately $96.5 million, in accordance
with the provisions of the forward equity sale
agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, CyrusOne Inc. entered into
forward equity sale agreements with financial institutions acting
as forward purchasers under the 2018 ATM Stock Offering Program and
the 2020 ATM Stock Offering Program, as applicable, with respect to
approximately 10.2 million shares of its common stock at a
weighted average price of $68.98 per share, net of expenses. The
Company received proceeds of $219.1 million from the sale of
3.4 million of its common shares by the forward purchasers in
respect of forward equity sale agreements entered during the year
ended December 31, 2020.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, CyrusOne Inc. entered into
forward equity sale agreements under the 2021 ATM Stock Offering
Program with respect to approximately 3.0 million shares. The
Company received proceeds of $116.6 million from the sale of 1.6
million of its common shares by the forward purchasers in respect
of forward equity sale agreements entered during the year ended
December 31, 2021.
The Company currently expects to fully physically settle the
remaining forward equity sale agreements by June 2022 and receive
cash proceeds upon one or more settlement dates at the Company’s
discretion, prior to the final settlement dates under the forward
equity sale agreements, in which case we expect to receive
aggregate net cash proceeds at settlement equal to the number of
shares specified in such forward equity sale agreements multiplied
by the relevant forward price per share. The weighted average
forward sale price that we expect to receive upon physical
settlement of the agreements will be subject to adjustment for (i)
a floating interest rate factor equal to a specified daily rate
less a spread, (ii) the forward purchasers' stock borrowing costs
and (iii) scheduled dividends during the terms of the
agreements.
As of December 31, 2021, there was $513.4 million under the
2021 ATM Stock Offering Program available for future
offerings.
Concentration of Revenue
We have significant concentration of revenue with few customers. 20
customers represented approximately 64.9% of our annualized rent as
of December 31, 2021. One customer represented 20% of our
annualized rent as of December 31, 2021, and 19% of our revenue for
the year ended December 31, 2021. Please see "Our Portfolio" set
forth in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.
Annualized backlog from leased but not commenced
leases
We define our annualized backlog as the twelve-month recurring
revenue (calculated in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP")) for
executed lease contracts achieved upon full occupancy which have
not commenced as of the end of a period. Our backlog as of
December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $176.8 million
and $101.0 million, respectively. We expect 80% of our backlog
lease contracts to commence in 2022 and 20% in 2023 and thereafter.
Because GAAP revenue for any period is generally a function of
straight line revenue recognized from lease contracts in existence
at the beginning of a period, as well as lease contract renewals
and new customer lease contracts commencing during the period,
backlog as of any period is not necessarily indicative of near-term
performance. Our definition of backlog may differ from other
companies in our industry.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP
requires management to use judgment in the application of
accounting policies, including making estimates and assumptions. If
our judgment or interpretation of the facts and circumstances
relating to various transactions had been different or different
assumptions were made, it is possible that different accounting
policies would have been applied, resulting in different financial
results or a different presentation of our financial statements.
Estimates, judgments and assumptions are based on historical
experiences that we believe to be reasonable under the
circumstances. From time to time we re-evaluate those estimates and
assumptions. Our discussion and analysis of financial condition and
results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial
statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our
management evaluates these estimates on an ongoing basis, based
upon information currently available and on various assumptions
management believes are reasonable as of the date of the financial
statements.
Our actual results may differ from these estimates. We have
provided a summary of our significant accounting policies in Note
3, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our audited
consolidated financial statements included in this Form
10-K.
Revenue Recognition
Our revenue consists of lease revenue and revenue from contracts
with customers. The revenues from colocation rent revenue, metered
power reimbursements and interconnection revenue are recognized
under the lease accounting standard and revenues from managed
services, equipment sales, installations and other services
(generally revenue from contracts with customers) are recognized
under the revenue accounting standard. An allowance for doubtful
accounts is recognized when the collection of rent receivables is
deemed to be unlikely. We adopted Accounting Standards Codification
(“ASC”) 842, Leases (“ASC 842”), the new accounting standard for
leases, effective January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective
approach and prior periods were not restated. In addition, we
adopted Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), the new
accounting standard for revenue from contracts with customers,
effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective
approach. See Note 4, Recently Issued Accounting Standards,
Note 5, Revenue Recognition and Note 6, Leases - As a Lessee, in
our audited consolidated financial statements included in this Form
10-K for additional information related to the
adoption.
Lease Revenue:
Our leasing revenue primarily consists of colocation rent, metered
power reimbursements and interconnection revenue and is accounted
for under ASC 842, Leases. We generally are not entitled to
reimbursements for rental expenses including real estate taxes,
insurance or other common area operating expenses. The accounting
for leases is highly dependent on the classification of the lease
as an operating or finance lease and requires judgment and
estimates in evaluating the principles of the new accounting
standard for leases, including whether an arrangement is a lease,
the fair value of the identified asset, expected lease term and
economic life of the asset.
a.Colocation
Rent Revenue
Colocation rent revenues, including interconnection revenue, are
fixed minimum lease payments generally billed monthly in advance
based on the contracted power or leased space. Some contracts may
provide initial free rent periods and rents that escalate over the
term of the contract. If rents escalate without the lessee gaining
access to or control over additional leased power or space at the
beginning of the lease term, the rental payments are recognized as
revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. If
rents escalate because the lessee gains access to and control over
additional power and or leased space, revenue is recognized in
proportion to the additional power or space in the periods that the
lessee has control over the use of the additional power or space.
The excess of revenue recognized over amounts contractually due is
recognized as a straight-line receivable, which is included in Rent
and other receivables in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Some of
our leases are structured on a gross basis in which the customer
pays a fixed amount for colocation space and power. The revenue for
these types of leases is recorded in colocation rent
revenue.
b. Metered Power Reimbursements Revenue
Some of our leases provide that the customer is separately billed
for power based upon actual or estimated metered usage generally at
rates then in effect. Metered power reimbursement revenue is
variable lease payments generally billed one month in arrears, and
an estimate of this revenue is accrued in the month that the
associated power is provided and recorded in metered power
reimbursements revenue.
Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Revenue from our managed services, equipment sales, installations
and other services are recognized under ASC 606.
Equipment sold by us generally consists of servers, switches,
networking equipment, cable infrastructure and cabinets. Revenue is
recognized at a point-in-time when control of the equipment
transfers to the customer from the Company, which generally occurs
upon delivery to the customer.
Managed services include providing a full-service managed data
center, monitoring customer computer equipment, managing backups
and storage, utilization reporting and other related ancillary
information technology services. Management service contracts
generally range from one to five years.
Installation services include mounting, wiring, and testing of
customer owned equipment. The installation period is typically
short term in duration, and accordingly, revenue from the
installation of customer equipment is recognized at a point-in-time
once the installation is complete and the performance obligation is
satisfied. Other services generally include installation of
customer equipment, performing customer system re-boots, server
cabinet and cage management, power monitoring, shipping and
receiving, resolving technical issues, and other services requested
by the customer. Other service revenue is measured based on the
consideration specified in the contract and recognized over time as
we satisfy the performance obligation.
Capitalization of Costs
We capitalize costs directly related to the development,
pre-development or improvement of our investment in real estate,
referred to as capital projects and other activities included
within this paragraph. Costs associated with our capital projects
are capitalized as incurred. If the project is abandoned, these
costs are expensed during the period in which the project is
abandoned. The accounting for capitalization of costs requires
judgment and estimates to evaluate each project, including the
timing and activities necessary to prepare an asset for its
intended use, evaluation of direct and indirect project costs, and
the allocation of costs to specific projects. Costs considered for
capitalization include, but are not limited to, construction costs,
interest, real estate taxes, insurance and utilities, if
appropriate. We capitalize indirect costs such as personnel, office
and administrative expenses that are directly related to our
development projects based on an estimate of the time spent on the
construction and development activities. These costs are
capitalized only during the period in which activities necessary to
ready an asset for its intended use are in progress and such costs
are incremental and identifiable to a specific activity to get the
asset ready for its intended use. We determine when the
capitalization period begins and ends through communication with
project and other managers responsible for the tracking and
oversight of individual projects. In the event that the activities
to ready the asset for its intended use are suspended, the
capitalization period will cease until such activities are resumed.
In addition, we capitalize incremental initial direct costs
incurred for successful origination of new leases which include
internal and external leasing commissions. Interest expense is
capitalized based on actual qualifying capital expenditures from
the period when development commences until the asset is ready for
its intended use, at the weighted average borrowing rate during the
period. These costs are included in investment in real estate and
depreciated over the estimated useful life of the related
assets.
Costs incurred for maintaining and repairing our properties, which
do not extend their useful lives, are expensed as
incurred.
Impairment Losses
Management reviews the carrying value of long-lived assets,
including intangible assets with finite lives, when events or
circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may
not be recoverable. When such impairment indicators exist, we
review an estimate of the undiscounted future cash flows expected
to result from the use of an asset (or group of assets) and
proceeds from its eventual disposition and compare such amount to
its carrying value. To determine the cash flows we consider factors
such as future operating income, trends and prospects, as well as
the effects of leasing demand, rental rates, competition and other
factors. The estimate of expected future cash flows is inherently
uncertain and relies to a considerable extent on management
estimates and assumptions, including current and future market
conditions, projected growth in our CSF, projected recurring rent
churn (as described below), lease renewal rates and our ability to
generate new leases on favorable terms. If our undiscounted cash
flows indicate that we are unable to recover the carrying value of
the asset, an impairment loss is recognized. An impairment loss is
measured as the amount by which the asset’s carrying value exceeds
its estimated fair value. The evaluation whether assets may not be
recoverable and the estimates and assumptions used to determine
undiscounted cash flows and fair value requires significant
judgment by management. We recognized an impairment loss of
$0.5 million for equipment held for use in inventory based on
the book value of the abandoned equipment for the year ended
December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2020,
we recognized an impairment loss of $11.2 million, which
included an $8.8 million impairment loss based on our estimate
of the decrease in the fair value of the equipment held for use in
inventory at our U.S. data centers and a $2.4 million
impairment loss based on the estimated fair value for our
investment in land held in Atlanta for future
development as the Company sold this land to a third-party in
February 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we recognized
an impairment loss of $0.7 million, primarily due to an impairment
loss on the South Bend-Monroe facility, which was being actively
marketed for sale. These fair values were based on unobservable
inputs and the determination of fair value of real estate assets to
be held for use is derived using the discounted cash flow method
and involves a number of management assumptions relating to future
economic events that could materially affect the determination of
the ultimate fair value. Such assumptions are Level 3 inputs and
include, but are not limited to, projected vacancy rates, rental
rates, property operating expenses and required capital
expenditures. These factors require management's judgment of
factors such as market knowledge, historical experience, lease
terms, tenant financial strength, economy, demographics,
environment, property location, age, physical condition and
expected return requirements, among other things. The
aforementioned factors are taken as a whole by management in the
determination of fair value. See Fair Value Measurements below for
further information on fair value. The impairment losses are
included in Impairment losses and (gain) loss on asset disposals,
net in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Key Operating Metrics
Annualized Rent.
We calculate annualized rent as monthly contractual rent (defined
as cash rent including customer reimbursements for metered power)
under existing customer leases as of December 31, 2021,
multiplied by 12. Monthly contractual rent is primarily for data
center space, power and connectivity; however, it includes rent for
office space and other ancillary services. For the month of
December 2021, customer reimbursements were $268.8 million
annualized and consisted of reimbursements by customers across all
facilities with separately metered power. Other companies may not
define annualized rent in the same manner. Accordingly, our
annualized rent may not be comparable to others. Management
believes annualized rent provides a useful measure of our in-place
lease revenue.
Colocation Square Feet ("CSF").
We calculate leased total CSF as the GSF at an operating facility
that is leased or readily available for lease as colocation space,
where customers locate their servers and other IT
equipment.
Leased Rate.
We calculate leased rate by dividing leased total CSF by total CSF.
Percent occupied differs from Percent leased. Percent occupied is
determined based on occupied CSF billed to customers under signed
leases divided by total CSF. CSF associated with signed leases that
have not commenced are not included.
Recurring Rent Churn Percentage.
We calculate recurring rent churn percentage as any reduction in
recurring rent due to customer terminations, service reductions or
net pricing decreases as a percentage of rent at the beginning of
the period, excluding any impact from metered power reimbursements
or other usage-based billing.
Capital Expenditures.
Expenditures that expand, improve or extend the life of real estate
and non-real estate property are capital expenditures. Management
views its capital expenditures as comprised of acquisitions of real
estate, development of real estate, recurring capital expenditures
and all other non-real estate capital expenditures. Purchases of
land or buildings from third parties represent acquisitions of real
estate. Capital spending that expands or improves our data centers
is deemed development of real estate. Replacements of data center
equipment are considered recurring capital expenditures. Purchases
of software, computer equipment and furniture and fixtures are
included in non-real estate capital expenditures.
Factors That May Influence Future Results of
Operations
Rental Income.
Our revenue growth depends on our ability to maintain our existing
revenue base and to sell new capacity that becomes available as a
result of our development activities. As of December 31, 2021,
we have leased approximately 83% of our CSF. Our ability to grow
revenue with our existing customers will also be affected by our
ability to maintain or increase rental rates at our properties.
Rates contracted with our customers that renewed in 2021 were lower
than the rates previously in effect, a trend that we expect to
continue and to be driven by increases in data center supply and
cloud company offerings. As such, we anticipate decreases in rates
as contracts renew which could continue to affect our revenue in
future periods. Future economic downturns, regional downturns
affecting our markets, or oversupply of or decrease in demand for
data center colocation services could impair our ability to attract
new customers or renew existing customers’ leases on favorable
terms, and this could adversely affect our ability to maintain or
increase revenues.
Leasing Arrangements.
As of December 31, 2021, 19% of our leased GSF was to
customers on a gross basis. Under a gross lease, the customer pays
a fixed monthly rent amount, and we are responsible for all data
center facility electricity, maintenance and repair costs, property
taxes, insurance and other utilities associated with that
customer’s space. For leases under this model, fluctuations in our
customers’ monthly utilization of power and the prices our utility
providers charge us impact our profitability. As of
December 31, 2021, 81% of our leased GSF was to customers with
separately billed metered power. Under the metered power model, the
customer pays us a fixed monthly rent amount, plus its actual costs
of sub-metered electricity
used to power its data center equipment, plus an estimate of costs
for electricity used to power supporting infrastructure for the
data center, expressed as a factor of the customer’s actual
electricity usage. We are responsible for all other costs listed in
the description of the gross lease above. Fluctuations in a
customer’s utilization of power and the supplier pricing of power
do not impact our profitability as much under the metered power
model. In future periods, we expect more of our contracts to be
structured to bill power on a metered power basis.
Growth and Expansion Activities.
Our ability to grow our revenue and profitability will depend on
our ability to acquire and develop data center space globally at an
appropriate cost and to lease the data center space to customers on
favorable terms. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we
increased our operational GSF by 8%, bringing our total GSF to
approximately 8.6 million at December 31, 2021. Our portfolio,
as of December 31, 2021, also included approximately 1.4
million GSF under development, as well as 1.7 million GSF of
additional powered shell space under roof available for
development. In addition, we have approximately 505 acres of land
that are available for future data center shell development. We
expect that the eventual construction of this future development
space will enable us to accommodate a portion of the future demand
of our existing and future customers and increase our future
revenue, profitability and cash flows.
Scheduled Lease Expirations.
Our ability to maintain low recurring rent churn and renew expiring
customer leases on favorable terms will impact our results of
operations. Our data center uncommitted capacity as of
December 31, 2021, was approximately 1.6 million GSF.
Excluding month-to-month leases, leases representing 11% and 14% of
our total GSF are scheduled to expire in 2022 and 2023,
respectively. These leases represented approximately 15% and 16% of
our total annualized rent as of December 31, 2021.
Month-to-month leases represented 7% of our total annualized rent
as of December 31, 2021. Recurring rent churn was 3.5% for the
year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to 3.6% for the year
ended December 31, 2020. Our recurring rent churn for each
quarter in 2021 ranged from 0.3% to 1.8%, in comparison to a range
of 0.6% to 1.1% in 2020.
Conditions in Significant Markets.
Our properties are located in 16 distinct markets (11 cities in the
U.S.; London, U.K.; Frankfurt, Germany; Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
Dublin, The Republic of Ireland and Paris, France). Cincinnati,
Dallas, Houston, New York Metro, Northern Virginia, Phoenix and San
Antonio accounted for approximately 73% of our annualized rent as
of December 31, 2021. We have recently expanded into
development in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Dublin, the Republic of
Ireland and Paris, France. General economic conditions and
regulations in these markets could impact our overall
profitability.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2021 and
2020