AirTrunk lines up $4.3B debt for Western Sydney data centre
What's the deal? AirTrunk, the Blackstone-owned data centre operator, is assembling a US$2.78B debt package to fund a 400-megawatt facility in Western Sydney. The financing covers its SYD3 data centre in Eastern Creek and is backed by a seven-lender group.
Why now? The debt is coming together as AirTrunk begins investor meetings for an initial public offering of its more mature Singapore assets.
Just how big? This ranks among the largest debt deals of its kind, sitting in the 99.9th percentile for debt rounds tied to Australia's internet-of-things sector across all 587 comparable deals on record.
What's the endgame? The capital funds SYD3, one of AirTrunk's larger builds by capacity. Founder Robin Khuda met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in June, signalling the company's regional ambitions.
The signal: The scale of the debt reflects how capital-hungry hyperscale data centres have become as demand for computing infrastructure surges. Pairing a fresh build with an IPO of mature assets shows operators are refinancing and recycling capital at once to keep expanding.
Read more: afr.com
Image credit: bugeaters
