LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has acquired a majority stake in UK2 Group, a business which provides international hosting from data centres in the UK and the US.

LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has acquired a majority stake in UK2 Group, a business which provides international hosting from data centres in the UK and the US.

The £47 million deal is LDC’s sixth deal of 2011, bringing its investments up to £163 million. The latest acquisition will be used to strengthen LDC’s ‘technology, media and telecommunications’ (TMT) portfolio, according to the company.

The purchase is in partnership with UK2’s management group, of which outgoing CEO, Ditlev Bredahl, will transition management of the company to the new executive chairman, Phil Male. Male was previously the chief strategy officer at Cable and Wireless Worldwide and chief operating officer of Thus Group.

Daniel Sasaki, managing director of LDC London, says that the acquisition fits in with LDC’s plan to invest up to £200 million in high quality businesses in the TMT sector over the next 24 months.

Male adds: ‘The increasing demand for hosting services, as we all move to a more ‘cloud’-based world, means that the UK2 Group is perfectly positioned to take advantage of, and innovate in, this fast growing sector.’

LDC’s TMT portfolio includes Avelo, Easynet Global Services and Musicmagpie.co.uk.