Cogeco Cable will greatly expand its number of data centers and its cloud computing capability with an offer to buy Peer 1 Network Enterprises.

At a bid price of $3.85 a share, the deal will end up being worth about $526 million.

Cogeco Cable said it has entered into agreements to buy the shares controlled by Peer 1’s board of directors, certain key management and certain key shareholders. Together, those interests represent in aggregate approximately 62 percent of the fully diluted shares outstanding, the MSO said.

The acquisition attempt is not quite a done deal, however. With the bid, Cogeco has put Peer 1 into play. If someone else makes a superior bid, however, Cogeco has secured the right to match or exceed it within five days.

Peer 1 specializes in managed hosting, dedicated servers, cloud services and colocation. The acquisition of Peer 1, and combining it with Cogeco Cable’s existing data center capabilities, will increase the scale and scope by adding the capability to service an additional 10,000 businesses worldwide through 19 data centers and 21 points of presence across North America and Europe, Cogeco said.

“Data center services are a key strategic focus for Cogeco Cable, and this acquisition is consistent with Cogeco Cable’s commitment to grow its presence in the sector. This acquisition enhances the company’s ability to provide complex colocation and managed data center services to our customers. There are significant opportunities for growth, including increasing Cogeco Cable’s penetration of the small- and medium-size business segment, gaining market share in the enterprise services market, and maximizing the potential of current services offered,” said Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco Cable.