The new billionaire behind one of the biggest deals in Australian history

The company name AirTrunk gives nothing away. A litany of possibilities would range from a pneumatic spare-tyre pump maker to a carbon-credit-producing tree plantation agribusiness. Try again – it’s an Australian-born data centre operation. But here’s the kicker – final touches are being put on a deal to sell it for more than $23 billion. Yep, that’s not a typo – billion.

AirTrunk will now take its place in Australia’s corporate lexicon.

AirTrunk, founded by Robin Khuda, has gone from zero to being worth billions in less than a decade.Credit: Oscar Colman

This makes it one of the biggest deals in Australian history. Size-wise, it’s in the league of the sale of BHP’s oil and gas assets, Frank Lowy offloading Westfield’s global shopping centres, the acquisition of Sydney Airport or Jack Dorsey’s eye-watering purchase in 2021 of what was then Australia’s most fashionable finance company, Afterpay.

It is certainly the largest sale of a company that most people (outside the tech sector) have never heard of.

AirTrunk was founded by the equally little-known Bangladesh-born Robin Khuda – now Australia’s freshest billionaire. His story ticks every box in the immigrant-made-good genre, but the real attention-grabbing element is the time taken from corporate inception to reaching $23 billion in value – nine years.

In business years, this company is barely adolescent, particularly when compared with the decades-old oil assets sold by BHP, the century-old Sydney Airport or the 65-year-old Westfield.

AirTrunk’s vertiginous growth trajectory owes a lot to Khuda’s foresight concerning the exponential demand for cloud-based data storage, which in recent years has been turbocharged by AI.

It is the AI revolution that has created corporate giants that are dominating sharemarkets and private equity. Five years ago, the company that has made chipmakers financially sexy and ranks among the largest in the world, Nvidia, was largely unknown.

But the story of AirTrunk’s creation departs a little from the conventional young entrepreneurial inventor creating something in their parents’ garage.

Khuda came to Australia at 18 to study accounting at university. He worked in tech-related areas, including a stint with serial tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery, who introduced him to data infrastructure.

AirTrunk owns 11 hyperscale data centres throughout Asia, including in Loyang, Singapore.Credit:

But it was a job with a mobile payment device supplier called Mint Wireless, which ended in tears when he was “asked to leave”, that set Khuda on the path to launching his start-up.

His attempts to find funding follow the more traditional narrative of rejection, and in his case, the innovative financing trick of dipping into his own superannuation.

At an Australian Financial Review address last year, Khuda regaled the audience with the tale of AirTrunk securing a contract to build its first data centre in mid-2016, one year after the business was launched, and its struggle to find financing. He said investors and banks were sceptical about providing capital for alternative assets, and funds were running low.

“It was Christmas 2016 and I had to deliver our first data centre by September 2017,” he said. “We got to the point where we had run out of money. I even took money from my superannuation fund, so that was naughty of me.

“I was desperate, and I genuinely believed in something but couldn’t get much support. I even rang up my lawyer and said I needed insolvency advice.”

Eventually, he secured $400 million in offshore funding, and four years ago a joint venture between Macquarie and a Canadian pension fund, PSP, acquired 88 per cent of AirTrunk, while Khuda retained most of the remainder.

Under the deal, the joint venture will sell its stake to New York-based financial behemoth Blackstone, which already has data storage among its vast global assets. (Blackstone is best known in Australia as the owner of Crown Resorts.)

Macquarie and a Canadian pension fund acquired 88 per cent of AirTrunk in a joint venture. Credit: Louie Douvis

For Macquarie, it’s a shot in the arm – not only because of the fees it will generate but because AirTrunk was valued at $3 billion when Macquarie invested. The transaction represents a massive payday.

Today AirTrunk is the proud owner of 11 hyperscale data centres throughout Asia, and Khuda is a billionaire with a portfolio of prestige homes. He retains about 5 per cent of the business he started.

A bumpy corporate fairytale.

Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.