Courtesy of NEXTDC
NextDC shares jumped nearly 43% in Australian trading Thursday after a vehicle jointly owned by Goodman Group and Digital Realty sought to buy up to 9.9% of the data-center operator through an aftermarket bookbuild.
The stock traded at A$9.34 in the snapshot published by Investing.com at 6:49 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, corresponding to Thursday in Australia. It was an intraday price, not a closing result.
Ackland Investments No.1 Trust, owned equally by Goodman and Digital Realty, sought shares at A$9.50 apiece after Wednesday’s market close. The targeted holding is a minority stake, not a takeover of NextDC.
NextDC says outcome is not known
In its November 5 statement, NextDC said it did not know the outcome of the bookbuild and had no takeover proposal before its board. The company described the move as opportunistic.
NextDC also noted that Goodman and Digital Realty had told investors through their broker that they did not intend to submit a control proposal or takeover bid at this time, while reserving the right to do so later.
The A$9.50 bookbuild price was a 45.5% premium to Wednesday’s close. Data Center Dynamics put the proposed stake purchase at about A$715 million in its report on the offer. Neither the targeted percentage nor that reported value should be read as confirmation of a completed acquisition.
Power delays set the backdrop
The approach follows NextDC’s October 21 disclosure of a power delay at its M3 Melbourne facility and revised fiscal 2027 guidance. That earlier setback had sharply reduced the company’s share price.
Thursday’s rebound shows how much the prospect of large industry investors changed the market’s valuation. It does not resolve the underlying power-delivery issue, and it does not establish that NextDC’s delayed expansion can proceed on its original schedule.
The bookbuild was open to institutional investors. NextDC said shareholders did not need to take action in response to its announcement and that any genuine future approaches would be considered on their merits.
NextDC appointed Barrenjoey and UBS as joint lead financial advisers, Cadence Advisory as an independent financial adviser, and Mallesons as legal adviser.
JBizNews Desk | Sydney
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