Infrastructure investor Infratil said CDC Data Centres has in the past six months seen its valuation surge A$448 million (US$285.32 million).

Infratil holds a 47.99% stake in CDC Data Centres. The latest independent valuation conducted on 30 September 2023, reveals that this investment is now estimated to be within the range of A$3,641 million (US$2.3 billion) to A$4,186 million (US$2.7 billion).

This demonstrates a growth from the previous valuation recorded at the end of March 2023, which was between A$3,145 million and A$3,744 million.

The valuation in NZD terms for Infratil’s CDC investment on 30 September 2023 is between $3,921 million and $4,507 million, with a midpoint of $4,182 million.

Infratil’s CEO Jason Boyes said: “CDC’s data centre design, operating model and customer base is strategically positioned to benefit from the new growth in demand for artificial intelligence services.

“These market dynamics have seen a significant uptick in inbound customer interest. In response to

this demand CDC is expecting a significant acceleration of construction and expansion of development planning in all locations”.

To accommodate this demand, CDC in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

The 30 September 2023 valuation is based on 268MW of existing operating facilities, another 265MW currently under construction, and 517MW categorised as future builds projected until 2028.

This marks an increase of 223MW under construction and an additional total capacity including future builds of 264MW since 31 March 2023.

CDC currently has access to the majority of the land required to complete these future builds. The projected cost to build aligns with recent performance.

The blended cost of equity used in the valuation has risen from 9.60% to 11.20% between March and September 2023.

This increase reflects an upsurge in the asset-specific risk premium, driven by the acceleration of CDC’s construction programme, expansion in CDC’s future build pipeline, and the valuer’s assessment of the relative increase in the scale and complexity of its commercialisation and delivery.

It also takes into account an increase in the risk-free rate (from 3.65% to 3.75%) and a higher level of gearing due to increased forecast debt levels as CDC continues to invest in its expanded development pipeline. The net debt as at 30 September was A$2,270 million.

CDC’s FY2024 full-year EBITDAF guidance of A$260 million to $270 million remains unaltered.

Infratil has stated that further information, including the estimated International Portfolio Fair Market Value and the impact on International Portfolio incentive fees, will be provided along with Infratil’s Interim Result due to be released on 16 November 2023.

The capacity breakdown for operating, under construction and future builds in the CDC Data Centres across Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Australian Expansion, and Auckland is as follows:

Operating Capacity

• Canberra: 117MW
• Sydney: 123MW
• Auckland: 28MW

Total: 268MW

Under Construction Capacity

• Canberra: 56MW
• Sydney: 147MW
• Melbourne: 32MW
• Auckland: 30MW

Total: 265MW

Future Build Capacity

• Canberra: 55MW
• Sydney: 151MW
• Melbourne: 208MW
• Australian Expansion: 22MW
• Auckland: 81MW

Total: 517MW

Total Capacity: 1,050MW