Investment firm Infratil has increased its stake in Australian operator Canberra Data Centres (CDC) to 49.75 percent.
Three of the company's major shareholders: Infratil, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), and Future Fund have adjusted their respective stakes in the company.
This week has also seen CDC announce the groundbreaking of its upcoming data center campus in Laverton, Melbourne.
CSC launched an international bidding process for its shares in CDC in late 2024. As existing investors, Infratil and Future Fund help pre-emptive rights to acquire the available shares which totaled a 12.04 percent stake. Future Fund previously took over shares from CSC in 2019.
Future Fund acquired 10.46 percent of the shares, bringing its equity holding to 34.55 percent, while Infratil acquired the remaining 1.58 percent shares. CSC has retained a 12.04 percent stake in the company. CDC management, led by CEO Greg Boorer as the largest individual shareholder, will hold 3.66 percent of shares.
The transaction has valued CDC at around AU$17 billion (US$10.81bn).
“I am thrilled to have the continued strong financial backing and support of Future Fund, Infratil, and CSC,” Boorer said.
“The strategic importance of these shareholders and their long-term horizon means that CDC is best positioned for making the right moves to lock in long-term growth in the relevant markets."
In June 2024, Infratil announced that it was planning a NZ$1.15 billion ($702.8m) equity raise to fund further investments into the data center operator CDC’s growth.
CDC breaks ground at Melbourne campus
This week has also seen CDC commencing works at its data center campus in Laverton, Melbourne.
The campus is planned to offer 150MW of computing capacity and will join CDC's existing data center in Brooklyn, bringing its total capacity in the state of Victoria to more than 780MW.
CEO Booerer was joined by local, state, and federal government representatives, including Tim Watts MP, Federal Member for Gellibrand; Sarah Connolly MP, Member for Laverton; and Councillor Mia Shaw, Mayor of Wyndham City Council for the groundbreaking ceremony.
“I am delighted to expand our presence in Melbourne and offer more customers access to our secure, reliable, and connected data centers,” Boorer said
“We have a solid base of existing customers in Victoria who have growing demands as well as interest from new customers who want highly secure and resilient access to their data. So, the decision to construct this facility in Laverton was a logical next step in our growth plans and aligned to our commitment to support the progress of our customers.”
Plans for a campus in Melbourne have been in the works since 2021, though details about location and construction timelines were not shared at the time.
CDC also broke ground on a 504MW campus in Sydney in October of last year. That campus will feature six four-story data center buildings, each housing up to 24 data halls and supporting office space.
Founded in 2007, Canberra Data Centres (CDC) has 14 Australian sites in operation and seven in development across Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Auckland, New Zealand.
According to Infratil’s most recent results, CDC has 302MW of data center capacity in operation, with 388MW in development across Melbourne (121MW), Sydney (158MW), Canberra (39MW), and New Zealand (70MW) set to go within 18 months. The company’s future development pipeline now totals a further 1.6GW out till 2034.
