Digital Colony Management, an investment firm established by downtown-based Colony Capital Inc. and digital infrastructure investor and operator Digital Bridge Holdings, has led a $1.25 billion investment in Denver-based Vantage Data Centers.

Vantage builds and services hyperscale data centers — a type of large, advanced data center owned and operated by the company it serves. The centers are commonly used by major internet and cloud service providers such as Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.

“Hyperscale data center market demand remains strong, and this capital raise will allow Vantage to accelerate its global expansion of sustainable, large-scale campuses,” Vantage Chief Financial Officer Sharif Metwalli said in a statement. “This capital raise demonstrates our investors’ continued commitment to Vantage’s strategic growth plan.”

The new funding will primarily be used to support Vantage’s ongoing expansion throughout North America and Europe, according to the company. 

Vantage recently opened a flagship European data center campus in Frankfurt, Germany, and significantly expanded its presence in Silicon Valley and northern Virginia through the acquisition of British data center company Next Generation Data.

The investment is in line with Colony Capital’s strategy to shift its business to digital real estate investments, such as data centers and communication towers. That transition has become even more urgent under Covid-19 pandemic, which has hammered many of Colony’s legacy real estate holdings.

“Supporting the strategic development and financing of our partner companies is a key pillar of Digital Colony’s alpha-creation strategies,” Marc Ganzi, chief executive of both Florida-based Digital Colony and Colony Capital, said in statement, “We’re thrilled to be a part of Vantage’s next big step forward.”