A DataBank data center near Legacy Park in Plano. [Photo: DataBank]
DataBank, a Dallas-based provider of enterprise-class edge colocation, interconnection, and managed cloud services, has raised $533 million via a combination of debt and equity to fund the construction of new data centers and meet the fast-growing need for capacity that’s driven by the rise of artificial intelligence applications.
Kevin Ooley
The company said that the financing consists of two separate transactions: $188 million in equity raised from existing and new investors, and a $345 million construction loan for a new data center under development in the Atlanta market.
“This new financing will allow us to continue bringing important capacity to market to meet extremely high demand for data center space and power,” DataBank President and CEO Kevin Ooley said in a statement. “The favorable loan terms, and the pre-emptive rights participation of existing equity investors so soon after our recapitalization, reflect the ongoing confidence of our investment partners and their willingness to seize the growth opportunity of the A.I. era ahead of us.”
DataBank announced seven data center expansions in August
DataBank announced in August the completion of seven data center expansions in Dallas, Las Vegas, San Diego, Irvine, and Kansas City—as well as two in Atlanta.
DataBank said of the raise, that $138 million came from existing investors in a pre-emptive rights offering and the remaining $50 million of the equity was provided by new equity investors.
The $345 million loan was provided for the construction of DataBank’s new ATL4 facility, a single-tenant, fully leased data center located about 20 minutes outside downtown Atlanta. It’s expected to open in Q3 of 2024.
Once that facility has been completed, DataBank said it will secure 100% load-following renewable power through Georgia Power’s solar-based Renewable Energy Certificates, which supports DataBank’s companywide goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2030, the company said.
First Citizens, MUFG, and CoBank acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners for the debt transaction with First Citizens as the administrative agent, DataBank said. Jones Day was legal counsel.
The company said that this $533 million in financing follows the $350 million credit facility announced in March, and the $715 million in secured notes announced in April, for a total of almost $1.6 billion in financing announced in 2023 alone.
This comes on the heels of DataBank’s $2.2 billion recapitalization led by SwissLife Asset Management that was completed a year ago.
Tuesday’s announcement also comes two weeks after DataBank acquired 85 acres of land for a new campus in Culpepper, Virginia, and one month after it announced the purchase of 95 acres of land for a new campus in the Atlanta market.
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Combined, DataBank said the 7 expanded colocation facilities—which serve as “major interconnect hubs”—have added 15-plus megawatts of power and 114,000 raised square feet of floor space during the past 12 months to their existing capacities.
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