DataBank Raises $2B Led by AustralianSuper
DataBank, an edge colocation and managed cloud service provider, has announced a $2 billion equity round, led by a $1.5 billion investment from AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest superannuation fund.
AustralianSuper will acquire a substantial minority stake in DataBank, which will represent the pension fund’s inaugural foray into the U.S. data center market. AustralianSuper will also be granted a seat on DataBank’s board of directors as part of the agreement.
The capital raise was oversubscribed, with an additional $483 million from existing investors, including DigitalBridge. The proceeds will be used to finance the expansion of over 850MW of data center capacity.
“We are delighted to have AustralianSuper join our investors,” said Raul Martynek, DataBank’s CEO. “This investment, and our new campuses, are a game-changer for DataBank and our customers, allowing us to bring this capacity to market now and seize the incredible opportunity ahead of us.”
The investment represents a substantial increase in the value of AustralianSuper’s global real assets portfolio, which has now reached nearly $40 billion. Australia, EMEA, South America, and the U.S. comprise the fund’s digital infrastructure assets.
In September 2023, it made a significant stride by acquiring a substantial minority stake in Vantage Data Centers Europe, Middle East and Africa (Vantage EMEA), a rapidly expanding hyperscale data center platform, for A$2.5 billion ($1.6 billion).
DataBank operates over 65 data centers across more than 27 markets, with new campuses in Dallas, Culpeper, and Atlanta. The company has raised over $4 billion in debt and equity in the past year. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.