NYSE-listed Digital Realty Trust’s listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for a data centre-focused Reit called Digital Core Reit saw a strong opening day of trade.
DIGITAL Core Reit closed 14.8 per cent higher than its initial public offering (IPO) price of US$0.88 at US$1.01, on the SGX. Based on the total of 1.13 billion outstanding units, this gives the Reit a market capitalisation of US$1.14 billion. Digital Core Reit’s IPO of 267 million units, comprising a placement tranche and a public offer, was 19.4 times subscribed, the Reit manager said.
Strong Investor Confidence
Nearly 253.7 million units were offered in the placement tranche to international investors outside of the US while around 13.4 million units to Singapore retail investors under the IPO was around 16.1 times subscribed, with 10,736 valid applications for 214.8 million units. Cornerstone investors have each also entered into separate subscription agreements at the offering price for a total of nearly 414.8 million units.
Among the cornerstone investors are investment managers BlackRock and DWS Investments Australia, Eastspring Investments Singapore – the Asian asset management business of Prudential, DBS Bank, OCBC unit Lion Global Investors and Temasek unit Fullerton Fund Management Company, according to reports. Separately, sponsor Digital Realty – the largest owner and operator of data centre providers in the world has agreed to subscribe for over 428.8 million units at the offering price of US$0.88 apiece, assuming that the over-allotment option is not exercised.
The initial public offering (IPO) portfolio will comprise 10 freehold data centres in the US and Canada with a total net lettable area (NLA) of 1.2 million square feet (sq ft). Four of the data centres are located in the Silicon Valley, with another 3 in Northern Virginia, 2 in Los Angeles and 1 in Toronto. Portfolio occupancy is at 100 per cent with a tenant base comprising global cloud providers, colocation and interconnection providers, social media platforms and IT solutions providers.
