NTT DC REIT Closes Flat in Singapore Trading Debut After $773M IPO

NTT DC REIT’s units opened 2 percent higher in their first day of trading on the Singapore Exchange, reaching an intraday peak of $1.03 before easing to close Monday’s session in line with their offer price of $1.00.

The units’ volume-weighted average price for the day was $1.0159, the trust’s manager said in a release. The lukewarm debut came after the data centre trust sponsored by Japanese giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp raised $773 million in Singapore’s biggest initial public offering for a REIT in over a decade.

Despite the flat performance, the manager said it was encouraged by what it termed an “excellent debut” underscored by the quality of NTT DC REIT’s six-asset portfolio and strong prospects for data centres globally.

“We would like to thank all our unitholders for their strong support,” said Yutaka Torigoe, CEO of the manager. “This is just the beginning, and we will continue to focus on delivering long-term value to our unitholders.”

Years in the Making

NTT DC REIT’s initial 90.7-megawatt portfolio comprises three assets in California and one each in Virginia, Austria and Singapore with a combined value of $1.57 billion.

At the end of 2024, the occupancy of the seed portfolio stood at 94.3 percent, with a weighted average lease expiry of 4.8 years. The trust enjoys right of first refusal with sponsor NTT Ltd and expects to add assets totalling 130MW within the next five years.

The REIT’s high-profile IPO attracted cornerstone investors led by Singapore sovereign giant GIC, which took a 9.8 percent stake in the trust, second only to the sponsor’s 25 percent.

NTT Global Data Centers president and CEO Doug Adams celebrated the successful listing of NTT DC REIT on the SGX as a milestone “years in the making”.

“The market reception to NTT DC REIT’s debut reflects recognition of data centres as a key and growing asset class, as well as NTT DC REIT’s access to our established global platform,” said Adams, who also sits as a non-independent director of the trust’s manager. “We are committed to supporting the growth of NTT DC REIT with a pipeline of high-quality, stabilised assets, so that it can scale alongside the rising demand for data centres worldwide.”

Digital Infrastructure Bet

GIC’s fellow cornerstone investors, holding a combined 7 percent of the units, include Hong Kong-based AM Squared Ltd (investing through its AM Asia Strategies Master Fund), with that company’s compatriots at Viridian Asset Management also joining.

US investment firm Ghisallo Capital Management is part of the cornerstone group through its Ghisallo Master Fund, as are Toronto-based Hazelview Securities and Pinpoint Asset Management of Singapore.

Acting through its Singapore branch, UBS also joined the cornerstone group as a custodian on behalf of some of its wealth management customers.

NTT is the third-largest data centre provider worldwide (ex China), with over 2,200MW in operation or under construction and a portfolio of 133 buildings across 91 sites in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.