Singapore’s PDG seeking US$1.2 billion loan for Johor data centre: source

[SINGAPORE] Asian data-centre operator Princeton Digital Group (PDG) is seeking a syndicated loan of up to US$1.2 billion to fund its Malaysia build-out, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the debt binge to finance artificial-intelligence infrastructure continues.

HSBC’s Singapore branch, Maybank, OCBC Bank (Malaysia), Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore), and UOB are the mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the three-year loan deal, said the person, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

Proceeds from the loan to be taken by the company’s subsidiary, Princeton Digital Group Labuan Alpha, will be used to fund a 198.8-megawatt data-centre campus project in Johor, Malaysia, and to refinance existing debt, the person said. 

StanChart declined to comment. Representatives for PDG, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC Malaysia and UOB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Data-centre companies across the world have been taking on debt as they seek to raise capital to meet growing AI demand. Moody’s Ratings expects at least US$3 trillion to flow into data centre-related investments over the next five years, with much of the spending financed through debt.

But there are signs that global investors are starting to push back against what they see are frothy AI valuations as evidenced by the collapse of Nvidia Corp-backed data centre operator Firmus Grid’s initial public offering last week.

Data-centre firm AirTrunk, which counts Blackstone as a key investor, was reported to delay its planned IPO of a real estate investment trust in Singapore until next year as higher interest rates and market volatility temper investor demand. 

Headquartered in Singapore, PDG’s top shareholder is Warburg Pincus and other investors include Stonepeak Partners, Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala Investment and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. 

The firm, founded in 2018, operates more than 1.8 gigawatts of data-centre capacity across Asia including in China, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to its website.

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PDG has been on a borrowing spree as it seeks to expand across Asia. In May, the firm said that it raised around US$856 million for its data-centre build-out in Indonesia.

Earlier in the year, the company said that it was targeting to raise US$5 billion in debt to support regional expansion plans. BLOOMBERG