Switch and Data Agrees to Settle Stockholder Class Action Lawsuits

TAMPA, Fla., Jan 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Switch and Data (NASDAQ: SDXC), a leading provider of network-neutral data center and Internet exchange services, today announced that it and the other defendants have entered into a memorandum of understanding with plaintiffs' counsel to settle three purported class action lawsuits filed regarding the proposed merger between Switch and Data, Equinix, Inc. and Sundance Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Equinix.

In connection with this settlement, the three lawsuits and all claims asserted therein would be dismissed with prejudice, including the claims brought against Switch and Data and its directors. Switch and Data and the other defendants deny all of the allegations in the lawsuits and believe that the existing disclosures regarding the proposed merger are appropriate under the law. Nevertheless, Switch and Data and the other defendants have agreed to settle the putative class action lawsuits in order to eliminate the risk, burden and expense of further litigation, to fully resolve all claims raised in the lawsuits, to permit the merger to be consummated without the risk of injunctive relief or delay, and to permit Switch and Data's stockholders to receive the consideration provided for in the merger.

Switch and Data today filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Current Report on Form 8-K to announce the settlement of the stockholder class action lawsuits and to also supplement and amend the Proxy Statement dated December 21, 2009, as previously supplemented on December 23, 2009. For further information, please see the Form 8-K, which is available at www.sec.gov or on Switch and Data's website at www.switchanddata.com.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the parties will seek approval of the settlement in the Florida state court; simultaneously, the parties will agree to stay the actions pending in the Delaware Chancery Court and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The proposed settlement is conditional upon, among other things, the execution of an appropriate stipulation of settlement, consummation of the merger and final approval of the proposed settlement by the Florida state court. The proposed settlement contemplates that plaintiffs' counsel will apply to the Florida state court for an award of attorneys' fees and costs in an aggregate amount of $900,000, and that the defendants will not oppose or undermine this application. These attorneys' fees and costs will not be deducted from the merger consideration.