Prague-based CDN77, the engineering-led internet infrastructure company behind some of the world’s most demanding online platforms, has announced that it has chosen CVC as a partner for the next phase of its growth. CVC, through its long-duration investment platform Strategic Opportunities, will acquire a minority stake in the company. Founder and CEO Zdenek Cendra, who founded the business in 2011, retains a majority stake and will continue as CEO.
The Deal
CDN77 builds and runs its own network, hardware platforms, and software stack, serving some of the largest video, gaming, software, and media platforms in the world. Over the years, the company has grown into a global edge network spanning more than 230 locations worldwide, with 330 Terabits Per Second (Tbps) of capacity. The majority of CDN77’s senior team has been with the company since its founding and will remain in their roles through this next phase, aimed at preserving the company’s nimble decision-making, closeness to the product, customer centricity, and technical excellence.
Content delivery is where CDN77 originated and where it will stay focused. The next phase adds scale to that business and to the broader infrastructure services built around it: storage, edge compute, and dedicated CPU/GPU infrastructure for applications ranging from low-bandwidth to bandwidth-heavy workloads and AI.
Zdenek Cendra, founder and CEO of CDN77, explained what set CVC apart during the process: “We spent a long time talking to potential partners, and the conversation with CVC was different to others; it was about respect for what we have built so far and where we want to take the company; not about what they would change. We have built CDN77 by picking up the phone when a customer calls, by caring more about whether customers are still with us in ten years than about this quarter, and by letting engineers make engineering decisions. This does not and will not change. What we gain in partnering up with CVC is a sparring partner who has helped companies like ours go from big to much bigger, and who opens doors we could not open ourselves.”
Jakub Canda from CVC added: “We have assessed numerous technology companies and CDN77 is truly one of a kind. Its core asset is not the 230+ locations around the world but its people and unique culture that Zdenek has been able to build over the last fifteen years: a group of smart and savvy engineers who have grown the company together, caring about customers to a degree that is one of a kind at this scale and who still think and act like founders themselves. Our key task is to let Zdenek and his team continue to focus on their valued customers while at the same time build faster and go further wherever they can. We feel privileged to have been chosen to be CDN77’s partner for its next stage of growth.”
Why CVC
CDN77 ran a deliberate process to find a partner, with one priority above all others: that customers would see no difference the day after the transaction. Beyond that, the company looked for a partner with an understanding of internet infrastructure, the patience for a long-term build, and a track record of backing founder-led companies — criteria CVC met through its experience working with technology businesses globally while backing founders to accelerate growth without displacing them from leadership.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Completion is subject to customary regulatory approvals. VALOUCH SERVUS and Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisers to Zdenek Cendra and CDN77, while White & Case and Ernst & Young acted as advisers to CVC.
About CDN77
CDN77 is the infrastructure company behind some of the world’s most demanding online platforms. Founded in 2011 by Zdenek Cendra, an internet infrastructure entrepreneur with 25 years in the industry, CDN77 provides a full stack of infrastructure services — from content storage and processing, through global delivery and edge computing, to dedicated servers and CPU/GPU infrastructure for the AI ecosystem — all on a network it designs, builds, and operates itself. Some of the largest streaming, gaming, and software companies globally rely on CDN77 to deliver, store, and process their data at scale. The company has grown profitably since day one and is known for its hands-on, engineering-led culture.
About CVC
CVC is a leading global private markets manager with a network of 30 office locations across EMEA, the Americas, and Asia, with approximately €212 billion of assets under management. CVC runs seven complementary strategies across private equity, secondaries, credit, and infrastructure, with funds managed or advised by its private equity strategy invested in more than 150 companies worldwide. CVC’s Strategic Opportunities team offers longer-term capital to founders, founding families, or partners of high-quality businesses in low-volatility sectors.
Source: CDN77 / CVC press release
