HMC Capital agrees $1.9b Global Switch Australia acquisition
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Investment manager HMC Capital has agreed terms to buy Global Switch Australia for $1.9 billion as a seed asset for a new global digital infrastructure platform, Global DigiCo Platform.
The numbers: HMC is undertaking a $300 million institutional placement to underwrite the acquisition of Global Switch Australia, a 26 megawatt colocation data centre, located in the Sydney CBD.
The placement will launch at an issue price of $8.75 per share, giving HMC around $3 billion of balance sheet underwriting capacity to support the acquisition and also the establishment of a new real estate investment trust, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT.
The context: HMC said that as part of the new Global DigiCo Platform, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT will be listed on the ASX alongside a new institutional unlisted fund.
HMC also said it has identified multiple seed assets, predominantly based in the US, which are currently under exclusive due diligence. These assets include hyperscale and enterprise data centres, colocation facilities and higher returning development opportunities, the company said.
What they said: "Digital infrastructure represents a major funds management growth opportunity for HMC and we believe the establishment of both a listed and unlisted vehicle will enable HMC to take advantage of high quality acquisition opportunities across the value chain to generate attractive risk adjusted returns," said HMC managing director and CEO David Di Pilla.
The source: ASX announcement
