DataBank Raises $2B in Equity

DataBank has obtained $2 billion in equity raise led by AustralianSuper, which committed $1.5 billion. The company also secured an additional $483 million in commitments from existing investors. The deal is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

This marks AustralianSuper’s first investment in the U.S. and the second alongside existing DataBank investor DigitalBridge. Upon closing, the Australian fund will acquire a substantial minority stake in DataBank and will join the company’s board of directors.

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The investment will fund the construction of more than 850 MW of data center capacity across DataBank’s portfolio, as well as diversify the investor’s global digital infrastructure exposure.

Proceeds will finance the developer’s inventory expansion involving three new campuses announced over the last months. These developments include a 480 MW campus near Dallas, a 192 MW campus in Culpeper, Va., and a 120 MW campus in the Atlanta MSA.

BofA Securities and Citizens Capital Markets Inc. acted as financial advisors for DataBank. Citi acted as financial advisor for AustralianSuper. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to DataBank and Milbank LLP acted as legal counsel to AustralianSuper.

In the last year, DataBank raised more than $4 billion in debt and equity. In April, the company established a $725 million credit facility to finance ongoing and future data center developments in existing markets. The firm’s portfolio consists of upwards of 65 data centers across more than 27 markets.

DataBank’s underway data centers

DataBank announced the construction of a 480 MW data center campus near Dallas earlier this fall. Set to be the firm’s largest project to date, the development will comprise eight two-story buildings across 292 acres and will be constructed in two phases.

The Culpeper, Va., project was announced last November. Plans called for a campus to host up to three two-story data centers and 1.4 million square feet of space. The site would also include a 300 MW on-site substation from Dominion Energy.

That same month, DataBank acquired 95 acres in Lithia Springs, Ga., for its new Atlanta-area data center campus. Dubbed ATL5, the 120 MW project would comprise two multi-story buildings for hyperscale developments.