AirTrunk seals A$16 billion refinancing, plans fresh sales to fuel expansion

[SYDNEY] AirTrunk has closed an A$16 billion (S$13.3 billion) refinancing, the largest sustainability-linked financing ever in Asia-Pacific and Japan and now is looking for ways to raise new capital in one of the hottest corners of credit markets.

The refinancing of the loans for operational and in-progress data centres in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore attracted over 60 lenders, according to a Tuesday (Aug 26) press release.

AirTrunk is now looking for new ways to fund growth. The firm is considering private placements, M&A and asset-backed bonds. It’s sounding out investor appetite in the US and Europe for a securitisation, which would be among the first in the Asia-Pacific for data centre debt, said Luke Stephens, the company’s treasurer, speaking in an interview.

AirTrunk’s plans come as credit investors pour billions of US dollars into artificial intelligence (AI) and the data centres required to power it. The rapid growth has fanned concerns of a credit-fuelled AI and data centre bubble as new companies and investors rush to take advantage of the demand for computing and data consumption.

“This industry needs hundreds of billions of US dollars, it is a very capital intensive business, we are constantly looking at innovative financing,” said Robin Khuda, AirTrunk’s founder and chief executive, speaking in an interview. “We are still seeing very strong absorption of capacities,” he said.

Khuda acknowledged the increased competition, but highlighted places such as the US, where the vacancy rate is less than 2 per cent and said his firm is still seeing strong demand across the Asia Pacific.

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Private equity giant Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired AirTrunk last December from Macquarie Group and PSP Investments, in a deal that valued the firm at A$24 billion. The acquisition was Blackstone’s largest-ever investment in Asia Pacific, as well as one of the biggest digital infrastructure transactions globally in 2024. BLOOMBERG