Australian private equity firm Next Capital has signed an agreement to acquire Fujitsu’s Australian data centre business, with completion expected later this year, subject to customary conditions and approvals.
The transaction covers a portfolio of five operational data centres across Australia. The portfolio is understood to include facilities in Homebush and Greystanes in New South Wales, Noble Park in Victoria, Eight Mile Plains in Queensland and Malaga in Western Australia.
Fujitsu told W.Media it had entered into an agreement for Next Capital to acquire the business, and that the five enterprise-grade data centres would form an independent, Australian-managed national data centre platform following completion. Fujitsu said it would continue to operate the business as usual until completion.
The acquisition marks Next Capital’s return to the Australian data centre market following its investment in Brisbane-based operator iseek, which the firm sold in 2021. Speaking to W.Media, Next Capital said the portfolio offered “high-quality, well-located assets with available capacity and significant growth potential,” adding that the opportunity required active ownership, investment and commercial execution.
Fujitsu said the transaction would allow it to focus investment on the technology services and capabilities where customer demand was growing fastest, including modernising critical systems, strengthening cyber resilience, accelerating digital transformation, and supporting sovereign AI and high-performance and quantum computing capabilities. The company said the data centre business would in turn benefit from dedicated ownership, management focus and investment to support its next phase of growth. Fujitsu added it would remain a customer of the business following completion, in support of its managed services customers.
Following completion, the business will be established as an independent platform with investment directed towards expanding the facilities and supporting future growth. While Next Capital declined to disclose investment levels or future capacity targets, it said the business would be debt-free at completion and that each site would be assessed individually for expansion opportunities.
The acquisition will also bring organisational changes. Both companies confirmed the existing Fujitsu data centre team will transfer to the new business at completion, with Next Capital saying additional leadership appointments would be announced alongside a new corporate brand.
Customers are not expected to experience any immediate operational changes. Fujitsu will continue operating the business until completion, after which customer agreements – including those with government agencies – are expected to transfer to the new company under their existing terms. Fujitsu said it and Next Capital were working closely with customers throughout the transition, and were engaging directly with them on the arrangements required to support the transfer.
“The business will introduce its own name and identity as it moves to independent operation. Customers will be informed ahead of the change,” Next Capital said. Fujitsu confirmed the platform would adopt its own name and identity following completion, with customers informed ahead of any change.
Asked whether the investment followed a similar strategy to its previous ownership of iseek, Next Capital said its focus was on building a stronger, growing business. “Under Next Capital’s ownership, iseek expanded its facilities and customer base and continued growing even after our ownership ended.”
The firm added that it expects demand for Australian data centre capacity to continue growing across cloud, AI, enterprise, government and business continuity workloads.
Fujitsu currently lists six Australian data centres on its website, including an additional facility at North Ryde in Sydney. Fujitsu confirmed to W.Media that North Ryde is not part of the transaction and is being managed separately. Fujitsu said it was not providing financial guidance on the transaction and was not disclosing the deal’s commercial terms.