The expanded funding will accelerate projects including S4 in Sydney’s Horsley Park (Image: NextDC)
NextDC has launched a A$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion) capital plan, combining a A$1.5 billion equity raise with an expanded hybrid securities offer backed by Canada’s La Caisse, as the Australian data centre operator moves to fund a surge in contracted utilisation.
NextDC’s pro forma contracted utilisation jumped by 250 megawatts in the first quarter, a 60 percent increase since the end of 2025, prompting an accelerated funding push to deliver capacity, the ASX-listed company said Monday in a series of filings.
The plan centres on a fully underwritten entitlement offer of new shares alongside a A$700 million upsizing of a hybrid securities deal struck earlier this month with La Caisse, taking total hybrid funding to A$1.7 billion. The combined A$1.5 billion equity raising and A$1.7 billion hybrid securities package will underpin NextDC’s expansion as it responds to quickening demand from hyperscale and artificial intelligence customers.
“The scale of this increase in contracted utilisation and the resulting uplift in the company’s pro forma forward order book are unprecedented, underscoring the record levels of demand we continue to experience,” said NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie.
Fast-Tracking Western Sydney
The Brisbane-based company said its forward order book climbed 83 percent to 544MW as of 31 March, reflecting contracted capacity yet to be delivered and billed.
NextDC chief executive and managing director Craig Scroggie (Image: NextDC)
Management expects that this pipeline, together with existing utilisation, will generate more than A$1 billion in contracted EBITDA over time, more than four times the midpoint of its fiscal 2026 earnings guidance.
The spike in contracted capacity is driving NextDC to speed development of the S4 hyperscale campus in western Sydney’s Horsley Park, with around A$1.5 billion earmarked for the project through fiscal 2027. The company said the funding package will help bring forward the delivery timeline while positioning the project for potential capital partnerships.
NextDC’s entitlement offer is priced at A$12.70 per share, representing an 8.6 percent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price and a 10.1 percent discount to the last closing price before the announcement. The pro-rata offering will let shareholders subscribe for one new share for every 5.4 held, with both institutional and retail components included.
Proceeds from the equity raise will be directed toward expanding capacity tied to the enlarged forward order book, including the newly secured 250MW of contracted utilisation.
La Caisse’s commitment to take up the full size of the hybrid securities offer marks the Quebec-based organisation’s first direct investment in Asia Pacific’s data centre sector.
The hybrid securities are treated as debt for accounting purposes, ranking junior to all of NextDC’s existing and future debt while standing senior to ordinary shares. The instruments do not include provisions for conversion to equity.
Liquidity Boost
Following completion of the capital raising, NextDC expects to have pro forma liquidity of A$5.9 billion, including undrawn debt facilities.
The group is also advancing additional funding options, including a potential A$1.5 billion increase in senior debt facilities and a subordinated notes issuance in the wholesale market.
The capital push comes as Australia’s data centre market experiences a structural demand shift, with AI-driven workloads accelerating requirements for large-scale, high-density capacity and tightening near-term supply.
NextDC operates 17 data centres across eight Australian cities, with around 208MW of operational capacity and more than 120MW under development, according to the company.
In December of last year, NextDC broke ground on its first project in Japan, a 28MW facility in central Tokyo. The company expects to open its first facility in Malaysia later this year.
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