Blackstone is firming as the favourite to buy the $15bn data centre business AirTrunk, with Canadian pension funds possibly joining forces with the New York-based buyout fund.
As suitors get ready to lob final offers in the week beginning August 26, DataRoom understands the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is expected to pair up with Blackstone in the race, while another Canadian fund, CDPQ, may also surface.
IFM, Silver Lake and GIP have linked up with DigitalBridge. Sources believe the mix of members may make he consortium slower in decision-making, and not all the group members may agree on price.
The sale process is on a tight time frame when complexity is taken into account.
Blackstone made it clear from the start it is keen to buy AirTrunk and has always been considered the one to beat.
While it probably does not need financial support from other parties, the cheque required is about $10bn, so having reinforcements would help.
Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Capital are overseeing the process for owners Macquarie Group, PSP and founder Robin Khuda.
AirTrunk has over 1.4GW of data centre capacity across 11 sites and a pipeline for further capacity.
It is considered the best-in-class hyperscale data centre platform for large cloud content and enterprise customers across the Asia-Pacific.
It launched its first hyperscale data centre in western Sydney.
It operates in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore.
The sale comes as data storage demand is expected to soar due to artificial intelligence.
Bids in for Queensland Airports
Meanwhile, bids have been received for a stake in Queensland Airports.
In the competition are AustralianSuper, GIP and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, together with existing Australian airport owner Dexus.
These suitors are yet to be short-listed for round two in the $1.5bn Barrenjoey and Macquarie Capital-run competition.
Queensland Airports owns regional airports including Gold Coast, Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach. A 74 per cent stake is on offer.
TIF holds a 35.77 per cent stake. Perron Investments has 24.6 per cent, Project Cricket State Super Unit Trust 17.35 per cent, Australian Retirement Trust 16.89 per cent, Queensland Airport Investments 4.24 per cent, Allan Moss 0.82 per cent and Lipno Holdings 0.31 per cent.
For the year to June 2023, it generated $169m in revenue and a $32m net profit with seven million total passengers.
Cuscal looks to lock in investor ahead of IPO
Cuscal is believed to be preparing to lock in a cornerstone investor as part of efforts by the payments infrastructure company to launch an IPO before Christmas.
Atturra targets Growth Fund’s Plan B operation
The $340m listed IT solutions provider Atturra has made no secret of its plans for acquisitions, and some think Sydney-based private equity firm The Growth Fund could be an opportunity.