Kardham acquires DK Architectes and strengthens its position in the data center sector

A strategic commitment to a key sector
The exponential growth in data storage and processing needs places data centers at the heart of France’s digital transition. Over just a few years, the country has become the sixth in the world in number of data centers, with 322 facilities across its territory (1), and national capacity is expected to triple within the next decade (2). 

Combining the strengths of a major architecture firm with the expertise of a recognized specialist
Founded in 1988 and composed of around ten specialists experienced in designing complex technical environments, DK Architectes has established itself as one of France’s leading data center experts. Its achievements notably include the Dugny data center campus, a 124,000 m² complex scheduled for phased delivery through 2030. The project includes a circa-200 MW substation and integrates environmental solutions such as waste-heat recovery and rooftop photovoltaics—demonstrating the firm’s ability to design extremely high-capacity infrastructure.

DK Architectes has also delivered major projects for Interxion/Digital Realty, including PAR VIII in La Courneuve and MRS3 in Marseille, where the firm converted a former submarine base into a high-performance data center. 

The acquisition will combine:
On one hand, the operational strength of the Kardham Group and its 600 employees across a wide range of sectors—office, healthcare, public facilities, education, industry—along with its organizational robustness, extensive production capabilities and methodologies, and complementary expertise in consulting, architecture, engineering, interior design, and digital services. Through its subsidiary Kardham Digital, the Group’s established expertise in data and smart buildings is a major asset, positioning Kardham as a key partner for tomorrow’s data centers.

On the other hand, DK Architectes’ sector-specific expertise, deep understanding of the constraints inherent to digital infrastructure—security, redundancy, cooling, continuity of service, high-density computing—and its ability to design complex technical buildings and/or large-scale structures without sacrificing architectural quality.

The synergy between the two companies will foster innovation and competitiveness while helping structure a French and European ecosystem for next-generation digital infrastructure design. Long seen as purely technical objects, these facilities have now become full architectural endeavors, carrying major urban, energy, and environmental implications. By entering this field, Kardham affirms its ambition to help transform a sector seeking greater sustainability and to place architecture at the service of energy performance, reversibility, and territorial integration—contributing to a more responsible approach to digital technology. 

A structuring financing plan to support Kardham’s growth
The acquisition of DK Architectes is part of the Group’s broader external growth strategy. It was supported by the recent non-dilutive mezzanine financing arranged with the assistance of Adviso Partners and fully arranged and subscribed by CIC Private Debt. This financing reflects the confidence of Kardham’s partners in the robustness of its business model, its development trajectory, and its capacity to build an integrated European leader in its market.

It will enable Kardham to accelerate its investments in France and Europe and to further deploy its strategy across its core expertise areas in real estate and digital. 

David Habrias, CEO of the Kardham Group, states:
“With the acquisition of DK Architectes, Kardham asserts its ambition to be a reference player in the design of digital infrastructure, pursuing a strategy aligned with today’s major challenges: digital sovereignty, architectural excellence, sustainability, and innovation. This is a tremendous opportunity to integrate rare expertise in a highly specialized market where only a handful of players—such as DK Architectes—truly master the complexity of the issues. Our goal is to work on urban integration and social acceptability, which are increasingly central topics, while pushing environmental standards as far as possible. More broadly, this acquisition reinforces Kardham’s long-standing commitment to support emerging sectors in line with evolving uses.”

Emmanuel Kuhn, President of DK Architectes, comments:
“For over thirty years, we have applied our expertise to some of the most demanding technical projects. We are delighted to join the Kardham Group at a time when digital infrastructure plays an essential role in France’s sovereignty and economy. Joining Kardham means benefiting from the strength of a recognized group that gives us the means to go even further in applying our know-how to a shared vision: designing more efficient, better-integrated, and more sustainable data centers. It is also a remarkable opportunity for our teams to continue contributing to a rapidly transforming sector while upholding the high standards that define DK Architectes’ DNA.” 

Jean-François Couëc, President of the Kardham Group, adds:
“We are very pleased to welcome the DK Architectes team into the broader Kardham community, and we are deeply grateful to Emmanuel Kuhn for entrusting us with his company. This acquisition marks our entry into a promising, sustainably growing market and is fully aligned with our external growth strategy, carried out with our financial partners Geneo Capital Entrepreneur and Bpifrance. It also marks the arrival of CIC Private Debt as a new partner supporting our momentum and enabling new growth initiatives in increasingly diversified markets that create value for the Kardham Group, its shareholders, its clients, and all stakeholders.”

(1) Source: Cloudscene
(2) Source: EY‑Parthenon / France Datacenter : Baromètre France Data Center 2023