Data centre developer and operator NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) wants to raise the total amount it has asked investors for this year to a massive $2 billion, after revealing plans late Tuesday for a second large round of funding.
The company raised A$1.3 billion in April (US$845 million) to support what was then an ambitious development plan.
Last night, it announced it was seeking an additional A$750 million (US$500 million) to capitalise on the boom, which has been revitalised by last week’s sale of rival AirTrunk to US investment giant Blackstone.
“NEXTDC continues to see opportunities in the growing cloud and AI-led demand for digital infrastructure throughout its core Asian markets, which it believes creates strong tailwinds for NEXTDC,” the company said in a statement.
NEXTDC stated that the capital raising would be conducted through a placement of A$550 million and a share purchase plan capped at A$200 million, with the placement priced at A$17.15 per share.
This price represents a 3.9% discount to Tuesday’s close of A$17.84. The company’s value as of Tuesday was A$10.7 billion.
This is 16% higher than the April raising of A$1.3 billion at A$15.40 per share, a slight discount compared to the A$16.71 the company’s stock was valued at on April 11, the day the raising was announced.
NEXTDC also revised its capital expenditure guidance for 2024–25, increasing it by more than 40% to a range of A$1.3 billion to A$1.5 billion, up from the previous forecast of A$900 million to A$1.1 billion.