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Macquarie Technology Group is raising $130 million to bolster its Data Centres business.
The fundraising is being sought through a non-underwritten institutional placement, which is expected to increase liquidity and free float, through 2.22 million new fully paid shares at $58.50 per share.
As of 13 June, Macquarie claimed this represents a 7.6 per cent discount to the last traded price of $63.29 and a 4.6 per cent discount to the five-day volume weighted average price of $61.32.
With the raised funds, Macquarie claims this will position the company to capitalise on cloud and artificial intelligence “megatrends”.
“A strong balance sheet ensures that the company can continue to deliver data centre capacity at a scale that meets our customers’ rapidly growing needs,” the parent company stated in a document about the fundraising.
David Tudehope, CEO of Macquarie Technology, said to ARN that the combination of cloud and AI is expected to generate strong demand for data centres.
“As our economy becomes more digitised, organisations are moving their data and applications to the cloud at a faster pace," he said. "The cloud lives in new-generation data centres like ours supported by leading cloud services and cyber security platforms.
"AI is the next significant megatrend for data centres and the digital economy, driving higher power density and demand for greater capacity.”
Financial services firm Canaccord Genuity (Australia) is acting as lead manager on the rise.
As a result of the raise, Macquarie entered into a trading halt on 13 June, which is expected to be lifted on 14 June.
Last week, Macquarie Data Centres completed a multi-million-dollar upgrade of its facilities in Sydney and Canberra.
Covering its IC2 and IC3 East facilities in Sydney and IC5 in Canberra, the upgrade includes the addition of two more ultra-secure zones plus power upgrades and increased operational efficiency.
