SINGAPORE - Keppel DC Reit announced it is seeking to raise some $303.1 million in a private placement to pay for the acquisition of a new data centre.
The Reit (real estate investment trust) is looking to place 224 million new shares at $1.353 apiece, which is a 4.9 per cent discount to the volume-weighted average price of $1.4220 per share for trades last done on the Singapore Exchange on May 4.
Citigroup Global Markets Singapore and DBS Bank are joint bookrunners and underwriters for the placement, which represents a 19.9 per cent increase in the total number of units current in issue.
Around $298.9 million from the proceeds will go towards partially funding the acquisition of the data centre, with $4.2 million allocated as payment for fees or expenses incurred in connection with the private placement, with the balance, if any, to be used for general corporate purposes or working capital purposes.
Reit manager Keppel DC Reit Management announced that trustee Perpetual (Asia) had entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with vendors Kingsland Development, Nylect Holdings and Nylect International to acquire 99 per cent of Kingsland Data Centre, valued at $295.1 million.
The data centre, located at 13 Sunview Way in Jurong, has a lettable area of some 98,769 square feet (sq ft) and is a five-storey purpose-built carrier-neutral data centre, providing data centre solutions and technical support.
Post-acquisition, the centre will be renamed Keppel DC Singapore 5, and a subsidiary of Keppel Data Centres Holding will be appointed as master lessee and facility manager.
"As a key data centre hub in Asia, Singapore continues to see strong demand from multinational firms for quality data centre space," said Keppel DC Reit Management's chief executive Chua Hsien Yang, adding that the addition of the data centre will allow Keppel DC Reit to establish a "strategic presence" in western Singapore and diversify its offering to clients.
Keppel DC Reit said that the acquision will boost the Reit's footprint in Singapore to nearly 300,000 square feet of aggregate lettable area.
