APAC data center firm AirTrunk has launched its first campus in Johor, Malaysia.
The news comes as investment firm Silver Lake Management reportedly joins one of several bids to acquire the company.
AirTrunk launches in Malaysia
AirTrunk has officially commenced operations at its JHB1 data center campus in Johor.
The initial phases of JHB1 will provide more than 50MW of capacity for its large technology customers. The facility features the company’s first deployment of direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology alongside traditional indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) and high-density racks.
AirTrunk founder and CEO, Robin Khuda, said: “The rapid and safe delivery of JHB1 is a pivotal step in the adoption of AI in Malaysia and AirTrunk’s growth as a trusted partner for our customers in the APJ region.”
He continued: “With a commitment to innovation and sustainable growth, combined with a program of investment in energy availability and renewable electricity, Malaysia is fast becoming a key tech hub in the Asia Pacific & Japan region. Through our long-term investment in Malaysia, we are able to support our customers as they grow at speed and implement groundbreaking solutions like liquid cooling, at scale, in order to catalyze sustainable cloud and AI development."
The company first announced plans to expand into Malaysia early last year. Sat on 10 hectares, JHB1 will offer 21,900 sqm (235,750 sq ft) of space across 20 data halls and more than 150MW of capacity at full build-out.
APAC-focused operator AirTrunk was founded in 2016 with plans to develop hyperscale data centers in Australia. The company opened its first facility in Sydney in 2017. Since then, the company has expanded across the region, operating and developing campuses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Silver Lake joins hunt to buy AirTrunk
Amid the facility opening, a number of firms are looking to acquire AirTrunk, with a new bidder joining the fray.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports Silver Lake Management is joining a consortium backed by IFM Investors and DigitalBridge in the bidding war for Airtrunk. Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is also part of the IFM-backed group.
The companies declined to comment to Bloomberg, with the publication saying no final decisions have been made.
Macquarie and PSP currently hold a combined 88 percent stake in the company. A group led by Macquarie took control of the company in 2020, in a deal that valued it at about AU$3 billion ($1.96bn) at the time.
News that AirTrunk was seeking bidders surfaced at the start of the year, after it apparently dropped plans for a potential IPO. The company is thought to be valued at around AU$15bn (US$9.9bn).
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP), Blackstone, and a consortium of IFM Investors, DigitalBridge, and GIP have reportedly tabled offers for the company. Brookfield has also been previously linked with interest in the operator.
Silver Lake launched Vantage in 2010 as a single data center campus on a former Intel site in Santa Clara, California. While it sold the company to DigitalBridge in 2017, Silver Lake reinvested in Vantage earlier this year.
DigitalBridge is a major investor in data center companies, and has an APAC presence through Vantage (in which PSP is also an investor), as well as Malaysia’s AIMS.
Blackstone launched Asia-focused data center firm Lumina CloudInfra in 2022. The company also owns QTS, which doesn't have a footprint in Asia.
CPP has previously invested in a number of data center funds and joint ventures, including several in Asia.
BlackRock-owned GIP owns CyrusOne alongside KKR. Not historically present in Asia, CyrusOne is planning a major expansion into Japan.
Blackstone and DigitalBridge were both said to be interested in acquiring Global Switch and a stake in Airtel’s Extra data center business.
