The $689 million deal to acquire Switch & Data Facilities brings together two of the world's largest operators of datacenters Equinix has agreed to acquire Switch & Data Facilities in a $689 million deal that will bring together two of the world’s largest operators of datacenters.Equinix already operates 45 datacenters in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which house infrastructure for customers including Google, Verizon, Sprint Nextel, Netflix and the Nasdaq stock exchange. With the Switch & Data acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter of next year, it will add 34 more across the U.S. and Canada.[ Keep up on the day’s tech news headlines with InfoWorld’s Today’s Headlines: First Look newsletter. ] Both companies provide datacenter facilities on high-speed network lines where enterprises and service providers can run applications and store data for delivery in a region. The acquisition will help Equinix address two key trends: the growing demand for online data, and the aggregation and distribution of enterprise resources, the companies said. Equinix will gain data-center space in 16 new markets, including Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Seattle and Toronto, while Switch & Data customers will gain overseas reach.The total size of Equinix’s datacenters will expand by more than 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters) to exceed 6 million square feet. Technology Industry