Funds to help build out 72MW MEL01 campus
Stack Infrastructure has secured new financing to fuel its data center build-out in Melbourne, Australia.
The company this week announced the successful close of an AU$1.3 billion (US$856 million) green financing facility to fund the next phase of development at its MEL01 hyperscale campus in West Melbourne, Victoria.
“This transaction demonstrates Stack’s strategic execution in Asia Pacific and highlights our ability to align with long-term capital partners who share our vision,” said Preet Gona, CEO of Stack APAC. "We remain committed to our clients’ hyperscale demand in one of the region’s most rapidly growing digital infrastructure markets.”
The facility was fully underwritten by five Mandated Lead Arrangers and Underwriters (MLAUBs): Deutsche Bank, MUFG Bank, Natixis, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, and Société Générale.
Sustainability-linked financing is becoming an increasingly popular way for data center firms and telcos to raise funds for projects. With sustainability-linked loans, companies can secure more favourable interest rates on debt if they achieve certain sustainability targets. With green bonds, companies raise money for select projects that meet pre-agreed sustainability criteria.
Stack didn’t share the green targets tied to this latest round of financing.
Stack said that since Q2 2024, it has secured more than US$2 billion in financing to support its operations in Australia, and more than US$36.1 billion in capital globally.
After previously investing in T5, IPI launched Stack in 2019 after merging several T5 data centers with three Infomart facilities acquired the previous year into a new operator. Stack’s owner, IPI, was recently acquired by Blue Owl.
Stack entered the Australian market in 2022 after taking over three development projects owned by local developer Hickory and launching its debut Aussie campus in Melbourne in 2023.
Set on nine acres, MEL01 is set to offer 72MW and 409,000 sq ft (38,000 sqm) across two three-story buildings at full build-out. A second campus nearby, MEL02, is to provide 252MW across one 227,000 sq ft (21,000 sqm) building.
The company is also planning a 28MW data center in Hume, Canberra, and previously listed plans for a 24MW data center in Wangara, Perth – though the status of the latter project is unclear. A campus is also in development in Sydney.
