HMC Capital will pick up Global Switch's Australian data centre operations
Allens has guided Global Switch on the sale of its Australian data centre operations to ASX-listed alternative asset manager HMC Capital Limited for $2.12bn.
HMC will become the full owner of Global Switch Australia Holdings (GSA) in line with its strategy to launch a global digital infrastructure platform. GSA operates two adjacent data centres in Ultimo, forming the only large-scale data centre campus in close proximity to the Sydney CBD.
The transaction was complicated by GSA’s business structure; since December 2016, it has operated as a standalone business under ring-fencing requirements to comply with FIRB conditions following current shareholders' acquisition of a majority interest in Global Switch. Moreover, there is an associated separation of ownership for GSA: Global Switch has effective economic ownership but legal ownership was retained by Global Switch’s former owner.
“Data centre sales have dominated the M&A landscape in recent months as part of a broader surge of capital into Australian digital infrastructure assets,” lead partner Wendy Rae said. “We were pleased to have the opportunity to assist Global Switch and GSA in navigating these complexities and achieving such a great result”.
Rae worked with the following Allens lawyers to pull off the deal:
M&A and capital markets
TMT
Real estate and development
Projects
Banking and finance
Employment and safety
IP
Tax
