Lendlease announces US$1bil data centre partnership

• The initial equity commitment by the parties is US$500 million
• Target markets are Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore

INTERNATIONAL property and infrastructure group, Lendlease, has announced a partnership to invest in data centres across the Asia Pacific region.

The partnership will be funded 20% by Lendlease and 80% by a large institutional investor. The initial equity commitment by the parties is US$500 million (RM2.1 billion), combined with leverage will enable the partnership to invest US$1 billion (RM4.1 billion) in the sector.

Completed assets and new development opportunities will be targeted across Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore – all markets in which Lendlease has a significant presence.

Lendlease’s integrated capability across development, construction and investment is well placed to execute on the significant growth forecast for the data centre sector. Accordingly, Lendlease has been appointed as development, construction, property and investment manager for the partnership.

Lendlease chief executive officer Asia Tony Lombardo (pic, right) said, “A data centre platform is a strategic fit for the group, aligning with our targeted key trend of infrastructure, our telecommunications strategy and our integrated business model. This partnership will enable us to leverage on our track record of project managing, designing and building data centres with the strong growth potential for this sector, which is evolving into a mainstream real estate asset class.”

Commencement of the partnership is subject to the relevant regulatory approvals.