Australia's NEXTDC rallies; calls Goodman, Digital Realty share bid 'opportunistic'
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Nov 5 : Australian data centre operator NEXTDC said on Thursday its board considered an aftermarket book build by an entity owned by Goodman Group and Digital Realty to be "opportunistic", and that it had received no takeover proposal.
Shares of NEXTDC rallied in early trade, jumping as much as 45.8 per cent to A$9.52 by 2336 GMT and eyeing its strongest intraday gain ever. The stock had lost 45.8 per cent in October.
On Wednesday, Goodman Group and Digital Realty offered to buy up to 9.9 per cent of NEXTDC in a deal worth about A$715 million ($501.14 million), Reuters reported, citing a term sheet.
The share purchase comes after NEXTDC's stock plunged in October, when the company announced a power delay at its M3 Melbourne site, cut its guidance and shelved new development. The deal would give two rival data centre operators a stake of nearly 10 per cent in the Australian data centre operator.
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NEXTDC said it noted the statement by Goodman and Digital Realty to investors during the aftermarket book build that they have "no intention of submitting a control proposal or making a takeover bid for the company at this time, but reserve their right to do so."
"The share raid comes two weeks after NEXTDC's 21 October 2026 announcement of the M3 Melbourne power delay and revised FY27 guidance, and was made through an aftermarket book build open only to institutional investors," the firm added in its statement, saying that the board would consider any bona fide takeover approaches on their merits.
NEXTDC said in October it would also shelve all new development projects and land acquisitions for the foreseeable future. It also said it would evaluate capital recycling opportunities, including potential sales of selected development sites.
Both Digital Realty and Goodman Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments.
($1 = 1.4267 Australian dollars)
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