Columbia Capital Backs MDC’s MANTA Landing Hubs

MDC Newsroom, MDC Data Centers
September 2, 2026

MDC Data Centers says Columbia Capital has taken a minority position to finance its next growth phase in U.S. border markets and Mexico. The announcement links the investment to added capacity at existing border data centers, the planned Querétaro interconnection site, and future landing hubs in Cancún and Veracruz for the MANTA submarine cable. MDC described the transaction as institutional backing for expansion on both sides of the border while keeping its neutral interconnection positioning central.

The company said founder Juan Salazar remains majority owner and chief executive officer, so MDC continues to be founder-controlled. Its management team and operating model are also unchanged. The investment brings two additions to the board: Columbia Capital partner Patrick Hendy and Bill Cook, who founded and previously led Summit IG and now chairs BIG Fiber, Xenith IG, and CENTRA Digital. MDC did not disclose the investment amount, valuation, or percentage stake.

MDC’s existing footprint includes eight data centers and nine crossings along the U.S.–Mexico corridor, with facilities or crossings listed in McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Nogales, and San Diego. The company says more than sixty networks connect through its platform. In its framing, the business helps carriers and other customers locate routes, markets, and partners for traffic moving into and out of Mexico, without positioning MDC as a network competitor to those customers.

The broader significance is MDC’s planned extension from border interconnection into Mexican inland and coastal infrastructure. Querétaro is in development as an interconnection hub, while Cancún and Veracruz are planned as neutral landing hubs where MDC has been chosen for the MANTA system. Brownsville, Texas, is also listed among development projects. The confirmed status is funding support and ongoing development; the announcement did not provide construction dates, opening schedules, or a MANTA landing timetable. Columbia Capital's participation adds experience from communications infrastructure investing, while Cook brings a background in network and interconnection businesses. Neither appointment changes MDC's stated management structure or neutral operating model.

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