Japanese telecom giant NTT Communications is looking to acquire German data centre operator e-shelter, as it seeks to cash in on growing demand in Europe, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Data centres are becoming crucial for IT companies operating in Europe, with many of the continent's consumers wary of US surveillance in the wake of US whistle-blower Edward Snowden's revelations.

US tech giant Apple has announced plans to spend 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 million) to build data centres in Ireland and Denmark.

Parent company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone is expanding its overseas operations, including operating data centres for data storage and processing, in response to sluggish telecommunications demand in Japan.

The purchase is expected to cost over 100 billion yen ($836 million), the Nikkei business daily said.

The company has positioned overseas corporate IT services as a key part of its growth strategy, buying South African IT giant Dimension Data for around 290 billion yen in 2010.

Founded in 2000, the unlisted e-shelter operates data centres in Austria and Switzerland as well as Germany, the Nikkei said.

oh/hg/jah

NTT