Silver Lake to Join IFM-Backed Group in AirTrunk Bidding

(Bloomberg) -- Silver Lake Management is joining a consortium backed by IFM Investors and DigitalBridge Group in the bidding for Australian data center operator Airtrunk, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

Global Infrastructure Partners is also part of the IFM-backed group, said the people, who asked not to be identified. AirTrunk’s owners, which include Macquarie Group’s asset management arm and PSP Investments, could seek a valuation of about A$20 billion ($13 billion) in the potential sale, one of the people said.

Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Representatives for GIP, DigitalBridge, and Silver Lake declined to comment. Spokespeople for IFM and Macquarie didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for AirTrunk also didn’t immediately respond outside regular business hours in Australia. 

The AirTrunk sale is set to be one of Asia-Pacific’s biggest digital infrastructure deals this year. Blackstone had also shown interest in the asset, people familiar with the matter said last month.

AirTrunk runs data centers in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia, its website shows. The company opened its new global headquarters in Sydney in February. A group led by Macquarie took control of the company in 2020 in a deal that valued it at about A$3 billion, Bloomberg News reported at the time. 

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