Infratil, the part-owner of Canberra data centre business CDC, was voted AirTrunk’s heir apparent by the sharemarket after a lofty $23.5 billion deal for the regional data centre giant was sealed in a closely fought auction.

Shares in New Zealand infrastructure investor Infratil rose 2.2 per cent on Wednesday, to $10.50, defying a broad sell-off that forced listed data centre players NextDC and Macquarie Technology Group down 3 per cent and 2.6 per cent on Wednesday.