The Brief:
NextDC has closed a $2.2bn dual-track raise — a $1.5bn entitlement offer plus a $700m hybrid uplift — anchored by Canadian pension giant La Caisse.
Mallesons advised NextDC; Allens acted for La Caisse.
AI demand is rewriting what “large” looks like in Aussie capital markets.
NextDC has pulled off a $2.2bn raise, pairing a $1.5bn accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer with a $700m increase to its hybrid securities offer. La Caisse, the Canadian pension giant, is anchoring the hybrid.
Mallesons steered the deal for NextDC. Allens acted on the other side of the table, advising La Caisse on its commitment.
The deal
NextDC is raising $2.2bn to accelerate the build-out of its data centre capacity as demand from hyperscale and AI customers surges.
The raise has two parts. First, a $1.5bn accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer priced at $12.70 per share. Second, a $700m expansion of La Caisse's existing $1bn hybrid commitment — lifting the Canadian pension giant's total exposure to $1.7bn.
The catalyst is NextDC's single largest customer contract in its history — leasing 250MW of capacity at its S4 data centre in western Sydney to one of the world's biggest tech companies, widely speculated to be Microsoft.
The $1.5bn is needed to deliver capacity at S4, which received development approval in December. Beyond that, NextDC has its sights set on S7 at Eastern Creek — a $7bn facility with OpenAI locked in as anchor tenant.
FY27 capex is expected to hit $5bn. Customer commitments are expected to generate $1bn in EBITDA by 2030 — four times this year's guidance of $235m.
Who’s acting
Mallesons ran a multi-disciplinary team across banking and finance, ECM and tax.
It's familiar territory for the firm. Mallesons advised NextDC on its initial $1bn 100-year subordinated hybrid anchored by La Caisse.
Banking and finance was led by partner Andrew Maynes, with partners Philip Harvey and Yuen-Yee Cho, special counsel Kat Tomasic and solicitor Georgia Weeden. Tax was handled by partner Scott Heezen, assisted by solicitor Fiona Pyliotis.
The ECM team was co-led by partners David Friedlander and Amanda Isouard, backed by senior associates Mitch Fairbairn, Jaspreet Nagra and Henry Sit, and solicitors Camille Seymour, Amy Ling and Bella Kidman.
Allens advised La Caisse on its $1.7bn hybrid commitment, led by partner James Darcy and partner Gavin Smith. The team spanned finance, corporate, real estate and projects, drawing on Dean Rose, Tom Story, William Coote, David McLeish, David Donnelly and Ben Van Weel.
What they said
Friedlander said:
“This deal shows data centres are no longer a niche asset class - they've become core infrastructure. The scale of capital being deployed reflects how quickly AI-driven demand is reshaping the market, the pool of investor interest and how these projects are funded.”
Darcy said:
"This transaction reflects the increasing alignment between digital infrastructure and long-term infrastructure capital, underpinned by strong fundamentals and long duration demand."