# TPG Is in Talks to Buy UK Data Centre Group Ark From Elliott at About $5 Billion, FT Reports

Times of AI Desk · 2026-10-28 · Infrastructure

[https://timesof.ai/2026/10/tpg-talks-buy-ark-data-centres-5b-elliott](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/tpg-talks-buy-ark-data-centres-5b-elliott)

> TPG is in talks to buy Ark Data Centres from Elliott Investment Management at a valuation of about $5 billion, the Financial Times reported on October 28, according to Reuters and Bloomberg Law. The talks are ongoing and a deal is not certain. Ark runs Crown Hosting Data Centres, a joint venture with the UK Cabinet Office that gives it access to all UK public-sector data centre requirements. Neither TPG nor Ark had commented when Reuters published.

The asset a buyer would be paying for is partly a relationship with the British state. Ark Data Centres runs Crown Hosting Data Centres, a joint venture with the UK government's Cabinet Office that gives it access to all UK public data centre requirements, Reuters reports. Global alternative asset manager TPG is now in talks to buy Ark from Elliott Investment Management at a valuation of about $5 billion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

## What is reported

The discussions are ongoing, but a deal is not guaranteed, according to the FT as relayed by Reuters. Elliott, which acquired Ark in 2012, was exploring options for the business in a possible sale that could fetch more than $4 billion, Reuters reported last year. Bloomberg Law describes Elliott as holding a controlling stake in Ark, which it calls one of the largest data centre operators in the UK, offering cloud and connectivity services; the company was founded in 2005.

## The government is a co-owner

The Crown Hosting joint venture gives the state more than customer status. When the Cabinet Office created it in March 2015, Ark took 75% and the government kept 25% "to ensure taxpayers benefit as the business grows," according to the government's announcement. The venture was set up to give the whole public sector a single contract for hosting servers that are not in the cloud, and the Cabinet Office estimated savings of up to £105 million over seven years.

The Companies House register now records a different split. The Minister for the Cabinet Office holds more than 25% but not more than 50% of Crown Hosting Data Centres' shares and voting rights, and Ark holds more than 50% but less than 75%. Both have the right to appoint or remove directors. The public records do not show when the split changed. A buyer of Ark would therefore get a business in which the government holds a significant stake in its public-sector joint venture, not just a large customer. The reports do not say how a change of control at Ark would affect the joint venture.

The report lands on the day Britain's Budget set out a [Data Centre Covenant](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/uk-budget-2026-700m-ai-package-data-centre-covenant) that offers faster grid connections to strategic data centres that meet tests on energy bills, local investment and jobs. There is no indication in the reports that the two are connected.

## Limits

- This rests on a single FT report citing unnamed people. Reuters said it could not verify the report, and TPG and Ark did not immediately respond to its requests for comment.
- The FT article itself was not readable here; details of the talks come from Reuters' and Bloomberg Law's summaries of it.
- Companies House gives ownership in bands, not exact percentages.
- Neither report gives a timetable, financing structure or the size of Elliott's stake.

## Sources

- [GOV.UK: Government creates new business to save up to £105 million in IT costs (March 19, 2015)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-creates-new-business-to-save-up-to-105-million-in-it-costs)
- [Companies House: Crown Hosting Data Centres Limited (09274699), persons with significant control (accessed November 2, 2026)](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09274699/persons-with-significant-control)
- [Reuters via Euronext: TPG pursues $5 billion acquisition of British data centre group Ark, FT reports (October 28, 2026)](https://live.euronext.com/en/financial-news/tpg-pursues-5-billion-acquisition-british-data-centre-group-ark-ft-reports)
- [Bloomberg Law: TPG Weighs Buying Data Center Firm Ark for $5 Billion, FT Says (October 28, 2026)](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/private-equity/tpg-weighs-buying-data-center-firm-ark-for-5-billion-ft-says)
- [Times of AI: UK Budget Puts About £700 Million Into AI, Most of It for Security, and Offers Data Centres Faster Grid Access in Return for Local Commitments (October 28, 2026)](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/uk-budget-2026-700m-ai-package-data-centre-covenant)