New Zealand–based infrastructure investor Infratil (ASX: IFT) and the Australian Government’s Future Fund have increased their interest in CDC Data Centres, the country’s largest operator and developer of data centres, in a deal that values the group at $13.7 billion.

The Future Fund has forked out $1.43 billion for an additional 10.46 per cent stake in CDC, while Infratil has paid $216 million for an extra 1.58 per cent interest.

The acquisition from Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, which manages the super savings of federal government employees, represents a selldown by the fund manager which has halved its interest in the data centre giant to 12.04 per cent.

Once the deal is completed, the Future Fund will have a 34.55 per cent interest in CDC while Infratil’s acquisition takes its interest to 49.75 per cent.

“CDC has been one of our most successful investments, and this increased ownership reinforces our commitment to investing in ‘ideas that matter’,” says Infratil CEO Jason Boyes.

“It reflects our strong conviction in CDC and the powerful tailwinds driving digital infrastructure.

“With this investment, Infratil gains additional governance rights, and we look forward to working alongside Future Fund and CSC to support CDC’s strategic direction and long-term growth. We remain focused on expanding CDC’s capacity and delivering high-quality digital infrastructure to meet our customers’ growing demand.

“With a strong shareholder base and a long-term investment horizon, CDC is well positioned to make the investments needed for sustained growth across key markets.”

CDC, which established its first data centre in Canberra in 2007, operates data centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Auckland. With about 2.5 gigawatts of capacity across its existing and future pipeline, it is the largest operator and developer of data centres across Australia and New Zealand.

The sale follows an international bidding process launched in late 2024 by Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation to offload a 12.04 per cent interest in CDC, leading to the Future Fund and Infratil exercising their pre-emptive rights to acquire all the available shares being offered by their fellow investor.

“CDC has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the premier data centre platforms, renowned globally for our quality, customer obsession and leading-edge technology innovation,” says Greg Boorer, the CEO and founder of CDC.

“This would not have been possible without the quality and conviction of all of our shareholders – Infratil, Future Fund and CSC - backing us long term to succeed at a scale never attempted before in these parts of the world.

“Together, we will continue to execute on our growth goals and ensure that CDC continues to position ourselves for growth in relevant markets and consolidate our status as one of the premier partners to the world’s largest and most critical organisations.

“This transaction positions CDC perfectly to execute on our plans.”

The shareholding reshuffle has been announced in tandem with CDC breaking ground this week on its Laverton campus expansion in Melbourne.

As part of this multi-phase campus, phase one alone comprises an investment of $2.7 billion as the latest in an array of new developments for the company which includes the construction start on a new campus in Sydney.

When completed, the works will boost CDC’s capacity by 1 gigawatt to meet sustained demand from customers.

CDC says accelerating growth has been driven by “strong customer demand, ongoing cloud adoption and Generative AI”, which has led to newly secured customer contracts and the expansion of its forecast build capacity.

CDC says it continues to make significant progress to bring additional capacity online with development under way for two new campuses at Marsden Park and Laverton.

Complementing CDC’s existing data centre in Brooklyn, which has a 155 megawatt capacity, the first stage of the Laverton development will deliver built capacity of about 210 megawatts.

Infratil’s acquisition will be funded through existing debt facilities and cash reserves with settlement, which is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, expected in the second half of this year.

Help us deliver quality journalism to you.As a free and independent news site providing daily updates during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywherewe call on your support