Bain Capital-owned data center operator Chindata has secured a $490 million loan from banks keen to support Asia’s growing digital infrastructure needs
First reported by Bloomberg, the five-year syndicated loan involved refinancing an existing facility for the company’s Malaysian unit.
Lenders include DBS Group Holdings, China Merchants Bank, Credit Agricole SA, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Bank of East Asia’s Singapore branch, Bayfront Infrastructure Management, Fubon Bank Hong Kong, and China Citic Bank International.
Chindata’s loan will refinance a $500 million three-year loan from June 2022.
ChinData operates more than 17 data centers across China, Malaysia, and Thailand, with its non-Chinese facilities operated by subsidiary Bridge Data Centrer.
Founded in 2015, the company was purchased by Bain in 2019 from Wangsu Science & Technology Co. and merged with Bridge Data Centres, which was already part of the Bain portfolio. The combined company went public in 2020, with Bain retaining a 42 percent stake, and other companies including SK Holdings buying.
However, last year Bain took ChinData private again in a $3.16 billion merger deal, which saw the data center operator combined with two wholly-owned Bain subsidiaries, BCPE Chivalry Bidco Limited, and BCPE Chivalry Merger Sub Limited. ChinData was in demand at the time, with local operators GDS and EQT-backed EdgeConneX said to have been considering offers, while state-back China Merchants had a $3.4 billion bid for the company rebuffed
Since then, ChinData has been expanding its offering, including the launch of a set of full-stack modular products for hyperscale data center builders, ranging from integrated power systems to prefabricated building.
Tech companies such as Microsoft and KKR have been financially supporting data centers across Asia to support accelerated growth in AI development and services. 9 Johor in Malaysia has been a particular beneficiary of such investments. In May, Yondr raised a $150 million loan to construct a data center in Johor’s Sedenak Tech Park.
rinceton Digital Group also closed a $280 million green loan to build out its campus, also in Sedenak Tech Park
