Australia-based data center operator AirTrunk, is considering a potential real estate investment trust (REIT) listing in Singapore this year, which could raise more than US$ 1 billion, according to Bloomberg last week, quoting people familiar with the matter. AirTrunk is said to have held initial discussions with prospective advisers and a listing is possible this year if it decides to go ahead, the people said, adding that details could change any time or it might not happen at all.
AirTrunk was bought by US alternative asset manager Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for a record US$ 16 billion in 2024, and has a presence in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
AirTrunk couldn’t immediately be reached while representatives for Blackstone and CPPIB declined to comment.
REIT listings of data center assets are on the rise in tandem with the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into data centers worldwide to build out AI infrastructure. Singapore is a hub for REITs with the trust instruments making up 10 per cent of its stock exchange’s (SGX) market capitalisation. A few months ago, Singapore Exchange witnessed its biggest listing in eight years, the US$773 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) of a data center REIT backed by Japan’s NTT.
