SYDNEY, April 27, 2026, 02:01 (AEST)
Retail shareholders of NextDC Limited are set for a Monday call to back the company’s equity raising, a deal now serving as a gauge for the depth of Australian data-centre investors’ appetite for AI-driven growth. NextDC has flagged that the retail entitlement offer opens at 9 a.m. in Sydney, aiming to pull in around A$0.5 billion before wrapping up on May 11. The institutional portion already bagged about A$1.0 billion, with investors taking up 98% of what was on offer.
NextDC’s timing is notable—the company just took on more debt, tapping the same funding drive. On Friday, it locked in A$750 million through four-year subordinated wholesale notes, priced at three-month BBSW plus 350 basis points. That bumps pro forma liquidity for June 2026 up to roughly A$6.6 billion. Chief Executive Craig Scroggie called the move one that “strengthens the Company’s long-term capital structure.” ASX Announcements
NextDC ended Friday’s session at A$14.95, gaining 1.36%. That keeps the A$12.70 offer price in the rearview mirror—still trailing the previous close ahead of Monday’s open. ASX normal trading hadn’t begun at the dateline; the market kicks off at 09:59:45 Sydney, just after the opening auction.
Momentum is picking up. Microsoft last week committed A$25 billion to Australia, aiming to ramp up its computing and AI footprint by the end of 2029. eToro analyst Josh Gilbert called it proof that Australia is shifting into “tier-one AI market” territory. Reuters
NextDC’s latest figures highlight what’s at stake with funding. As of March 31, the company reported pro forma contracted utilisation up 60% to 667 megawatts—representing the power capacity customers have locked in. Its forward order book surged 83% to hit 544 megawatts. For big data centres, electricity capacity is the critical bottleneck, measured in megawatts.
In its April investor update, the company projected that its forward order book and current billing utilisation should together deliver contracted EBITDA topping A$1 billion. EBITDA—short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation—is a widely used gauge of operating profit. It’s not the same as cash flow.
Last week, Reuters reported that NextDC was lining up a A$1.5 billion equity raise to push forward its S4 Sydney data centre project. The company has pegged the facility for Horsley Park, aiming for 350 megawatts of capacity. CEO Scroggie described the fundraising as a way to “de-risk” its Western Sydney builds. Reuters
La Caisse, the Canadian investment group behind NextDC’s hybrid securities, now sits at the core of the funding narrative. Emmanuel Jaclot, head of infrastructure and sustainability at La Caisse, described the group’s commitment as a move to back “growing demand for digital infrastructure in Australia.” NextDC, for its part, has put the expanded hybrid program at A$1.7 billion. La Caisse
NextDC isn’t the only player scrambling for capital and powered locations. Goodman Group pulled in A$4 billion last year for its data-centre expansion plans. Macquarie Data Centres, for its part, says the 47 MW IC3 Super West site in Sydney’s north is scheduled to go live by September 2026.
Still, there are clear vulnerabilities. NextDC’s own slides flag risks like changes in demand, power prices and supply, grid connection hurdles, and possible slowdowns in getting equipment—generators, chillers, cooling systems—which could impact schedules, budgets, or returns.
The real question for Monday isn’t about the presence of AI demand. What matters now: How efficiently—and at what cost—can NextDC flip its signed deals into active capacity before investors lose patience?
