Blackstone to buy Australia's AirTrunk in $16 billion deal
Blackstone leads Australia's largest buyout deal this year
Canada's CPP Investments to hold 12% stake in AirTrunk
Surging demand for AI boosting interest in data centres
Adds CPP Investments statement from paragraph 7
By Scott Murdoch
SYDNEY Sept 4 (Reuters) -Blackstone BX.N will buy Australian data centre group AirTrunk for an implied enterprise value of over A$24 billion ($16.10 billion), it said on Wednesday, in what would be Blackstone's largest investment in the Asia Pacific region.
The alternative asset manager, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), is acquiring AirTrunk from Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP).
The transaction needs approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), given the asset is being bought by overseas parties.
At $16.1 billion, the deal is the largest buyout in Australia this year and one of the biggest in recent history.
Global private equity investors and asset managers are readying for billions of dollars worth of M&A and investments linked to data centres in Asia Pacific, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom fuels demand for digital infrastructure.
The value of AirTrunk increased during the sales process, which officially began in March, due to the increasing usage of AI which requires greater data centre capacity.
CPP Investments said in a statement on Wednesday it would hold 12% of AirTrunk once the deal was finalised.
"CPP Investments has invested in the Asia Pacific data centre sector for several years, and we have witnessed significant growth in this space, fueled by a strong demand for digital infrastructure and, more recently, the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence," said Max Biagosch, CPP Investments' global head of real assets.
AirTrunk, which was founded in Sydney in 2015, is considered the largest data centre group in Asia Pacific, with 11 sites in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
It was owned 88% by MAM and Canada's PSP which have now sold their entire stake, according to a statement from the two companies.
AirTrunk founder and chief executive Robin Khuda will retain a stake, the statement said, without specifying the size of his remaining shareholding. Khuda will remain chief executive, according to the statement.
"AirTrunk is another vital step as Blackstone seeks to be the leading digital infrastructure investor in the world across the ecosystem, including data centers, power and related services," Blackstone president Jon Gray said in a statement.
Blackstone and CPP Investments beat out a consortium led by IFM Investors which also bid for AirTrunk, Reuters reported on Aug. 28.
Reuters reported on Monday the Blackstone led group was nearing a deal to win control of AirTrunk.
($1 = 1.4908 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Additional reporting Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
