Asia data center player raises $621m
AirTrunk, a Singapore-based data center provider focused on Australia, has raised A$850 million ($621 million) in senior debt financing and capital from existing investors Goldman Sachs and TPG Capital.
TPG participated through its dedicated credit and special situations platform TSSP, while Deutsche Bank was the lead arranger, underwriter, and sole bookrunner for the new debt facility, according to a statement. AirTrunk founder and CEO Robin Khuda also contributed new capital alongside Goldman Sachs and TSSP. The investment will be used to support the expansion of AirTrunk’s data centers in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as to enter new markets in Asia Pacific.
AirTrunk was founded in 2014 by Khuda, who previously spent three years with Australian data center provider NextDC, and also helped establish Australia’s first data center real estate investment trust, the Asia Pacific Data Center Trust. Its Sydney and Melbourne data centers opened last year and will have a total capacity of more than 170 megawatts when completed.
At the time of AirTrunk’s A$400 million funding round last year, led by Goldman Sachs and TSSP, the company indicated it planned to invest more than A$2 billion over the next three years in creating a data center platform that covers the entire Asia Pacific region. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Khuda confirmed the company has already deployed more than A$500 million scouting and finalizing development deals for locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
Data infrastructure services in Asia, including data centers, are seen as a compelling trend for investors thanks to the continued growth of industries like artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and the internet of things (IoT).
Investors focusing on the sector include Alpha Data Centre Fund, a vehicle managed by Singapore conglomerate Keppel Group that is targeting $1 billion for its debut fund. In addition, Princeton Growth Ventures, a New York-based GP founded by former Tata Communications executives and backed by Warburg Pincus, is pursuing buyouts of data center and digital media services assets in emerging markets worldwide, particularly Asia and Latin America.
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