Data centre giant AirTrunk mulls $10b-plus IPO, shareholders send RFP
AirTrunk is considering an initial public offering which would value the tearaway data centre business at well north of $10 billion on an enterprise value basis.
Street Talk can reveal AirTrunk shareholders, Macquarie Asset Management and PSP, sent a request for proposal to seven investment banks earlier this month. The RFP asked equity capital markets teams to pitch their ideas around a capital review, which would look at a potential listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
AirTrunk boss Robin Khuda. An IPO of the company he founded would be biggest seen in Australia since 2014. AFR
It is understood ECM teams presented last week to MAM and PSP. However, appointments have not yet been made. It is believed the capital review will also examine options around selling a minority stake in the business.
If a listing is given the green light by shareholders, it would mark the biggest IPO since health insurer Medibank’s $5.7 billion listing in 2014, Alongside Macquarie Capital, it is understood at least two other banks will be appointed as joint lead managers, given the size of the mooted transaction.
AirTrunk’s contracted EBITDA has grown over seven times to circa $600 million since PSP and MAM acquired an 88 per cent stake in the business in 2020, in a deal that valued the business at more than $3 billion. Founder and CEO Robin Khuda retained about 10 per cent, while the remaining 2 per cent was spread across management.
AirTrunk was founded in 2015 by Khuda, who formerly worked as the chief financial officer for Bevan Slattery and Steve Baxter’s PIPE Networks and then managed NextDC’s float in 2010.
It cut the ribbon on its first hyperscale data centres in western Sydney and Melbourne in 2017, and has since grown to be
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