Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) today announced an agreement for the sale of the entirety of their respective interests totalling 88 per cent of AirTrunk, to a consortium of investors led and managed by Blackstone. As part of the transaction, AirTrunk Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Robin Khuda, will also realise part of his stake. The transaction implies an enterprise value1 of over $A24 billion.
MAM (on behalf of its managed fund and clients) and PSP Investments acquired a majority stake in AirTrunk in 2020. Since then, the company has expanded from five data centres in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, to become a leading hyperscale data centre specialist across 11 sites, including Japan and Malaysia. Capacity across the portfolio has grown from 450MW to over 1.8GW, with a strong future growth pipeline.
Ani Satchcroft, Co-Head of Infrastructure for Asia Pacific at MAM, AirTrunk’s majority investor, said: “The AirTrunk story is one of genuine partnership between MAM, PSP Investments and AirTrunk’s world class team. Our journey with AirTrunk, and the drive and foresight of our teams in Asia Pacific, has resulted in AirTrunk expanding its footprint across key markets in the region, achieving a more than eightfold increase in contracted capacity. Today’s transaction demonstrates MAM’s ability to identify, invest in, and nurture digital infrastructure assets that are resilient, scalable and pivotal in meeting today’s burgeoning demand for data, cloud services and the adoption of artificial intelligence.
“As the world’s largest infrastructure manager, MAM began investing in digital infrastructure more than 20 years ago. We remain committed to leveraging our global expertise and local insights to continue growing businesses and actively shaping industries, generating superior value for our investors and the communities we serve,” Ms Satchcroft said.
Sandiren Curthan, Managing Director and Global Head of Infrastructure Investments at PSP Investments said: “Our successful collaboration with MAM and the AirTrunk management team has enabled AirTrunk to become a market-leading independent hyperscale data centre platform in Asia-Pacific from a customer experience, operational and sustainability standpoint.
“This partnership has not only delivered outstanding results for our beneficiaries but also validates our investment strategy focused on partnering with top-tier management teams and like-minded investors to support infrastructure businesses globally in their growth ambitions while achieving operational excellence,” Mr Curthan said.
MAM and PSP Investments have also worked alongside AirTrunk management to elevate its ESG and work health and safety (WHS) focus, with the company introducing initiatives including a sustainability linked loan – the largest by a data centre operator globally – a target of achieving 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 through both AirTrunk and customer procurement, and a safety culture that is leading in the industry.
Robin Khuda, who will remain with the company as the CEO, said: “In 2015, I established AirTrunk to pioneer scalable and sustainable hyperscale data centres in the Asia-Pacific region. In under a decade, we’ve built the largest platform in the region, with data centres in all major markets operating as essential digital infrastructure underpinning the digital economy.
“Today’s announcement is a testament to the strength of our platform, vision, execution and team – the experts and innovators, trusted by our customers to deliver and operate, with a passion to ensure sustainability is at the forefront of the finance, design, build and operations of our data centres.
“The support and expertise from MAM and PSP Investments have been transformational for the company. As we enter our next phase of growth, the AirTrunk management team thank them for their outstanding partnership. For AirTrunk, this is just the beginning, as we continue to capture the significant opportunities from the region’s vibrant digital future,” he said.
