Acquisition of a data centre and landing station

RNS Number : 0408V

Digital 9 Infrastructure PLC

09 December 2021

 

9 December 2021

DIGITAL 9 INFRASTRUCTURE PLC

("D9", the "Company" or, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

£15 million acquisition of a data centre and landing station

Pipeline update

D9 is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of a data centre asset and subsea fibre landing station, SeaEdge UK1, on the UK's largest data centre campus in Newcastle for a purchase price of £15m¹. The asset forms part of the Company's pipeline identified in the IPO prospectus and delivers on the Company's landing station data centre strategy.

Key highlights:

· £15m¹ acquisition of a data centre and subsea fibre landing station asset, SeaEdge UK1, with capacity of 10.6MW and a direct connection to the 275KV National Grid ensuring a highly resilient electrical supply of up to 80MW.

· The asset is occupied, and operated, by data centre operator, Stellium Data Centers Limited ("Stellium"), via a 25-year occupational lease, with over 24 years remaining. The rent received under the lease will deliver an attractive yield to D9, and is subject to annual, upward-only inflation-linked rent reviews.

· SeaEdge UK1 is the UK's only landing point for the new North Sea Connect cable, part of the advanced North Atlantic Loop fibre optic cable network, which hosts AEC-1 and AEC-2, both owned and operated by D9's cornerstone subsea fibre platform, Aqua Comms. The presence of Aqua Comms and its knowledge of the asset will deliver synergies for the wider portfolio and reaffirms D9's wider strategy of bridging the connectivity divide (in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 9), leveraging D9's subsea fibre platform to build a vertically integrated portfolio of digital infrastructure investments.

· SeaEdge UK1 is also the landing station for the NO-UK subsea cable, connecting Altibox Carrier's Norwegian network to the North East of England, and onwards.

· In addition to being a subsea landing station, the data centre hosts several Tier 1 carriers and a leading technology company.

D9's pipeline

In addition to the SeaEdge UK1 acquisition and its related expansion opportunities, the Investment Manager has identified a further £1 billion pipeline of investment opportunities over the next 6 months.

Commenting on the SeaEdge UK1 transaction, Thor Johnsen, Head of Digital Infrastructure at Triple Point, said:

"Data centres form a key part of the digital infrastructure backbone. We are pleased to support the Stellium operations through our ownership of the SeaEdge UK1 asset. Stellium offers customers robust transatlantic and intra-Europe connectivity, as well as access to the Newcastle Internet Exchange (NCL-IX). This level of connectivity is key in delivering on D9's strategic ambition and bridging the connectivity divide.

We are thrilled to add SeaEdge UK1 to the growing D9 portfolio and look forward to updating investors on further opportunities in due course."

Notes:

1  Excluding transaction costs

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY, PLEASE CONTACT

Triple Point Investment Management LLP (Investment Manager) Thor Johnsen Andre Karihaloo	Via Sapience Communications
J.P. Morgan Cazenove (Corporate Broker) William Simmonds Jérémie Birnbaum	[phone]
Akur Capital (Financial Adviser) Tom Frost Anthony Richardson Siobhan Sergeant	[phone]
Sapience Communications (Press and Public Relations) Richard Morgan Evans / Sasha Johnson	[phone]/ [e-mail]

LEI: 213800OQLX64UNS38U92

NOTES:

Digital 9 Infrastructure plc is an investment trust which invests in a range of digital infrastructure assets, including data centres and fibre networks which deliver a reliable, functioning internet.  The Company has raised over USD 1 billion from its IPO in March 2021 and further placings in June and September 2021. It is the largest specialist digital infrastructure investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: DGI9). The Company's Ordinary Shares were admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 31 March 2021.

"Digital infrastructure" refers to the critical infrastructure required for the internet to operate and, essentially, refers to everything from fibre networks that connect continents, businesses and homes (the very "backbone" of the internet), to the data centres that organisations use to house their critical networks of computer and storage resources, and to the towers and small cells that carry data traffic wirelessly to the end user.

D9's portfolio will comprise future proofed, non-legacy, scalable platforms and technologies including (but not limited to) subsea fibre, data centres, terrestrial fibre, and wireless networks (including 5G).

D9 is focused on the provision of Digital Infrastructure to bridge the digital divide globally, integrated with green and cleaner power, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 9: "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation".

For more information, please visit  www.d9infrastructure.com .

The Investment Manager is Triple Point Investment Management LLP ("Triple Point") which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, with extensive experience in asset and project finance, portfolio management and structured investments. The Investment Manager's digital infrastructure team has a proven track record of over US$2 billion of infrastructure investments and, in addition, benefits from a panel of digital infrastructure industry experts with deep knowledge, relationships and involvement in a combined US$250 billion of digital infrastructure transactions.

For more information, please visit  www.triplepoint.co.uk .

 

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