La Caisse Commits $693M to Australia’s NextDC in First APAC Data Centre Deal

La Caisse has made its first direct investment in a data centre strategy in Asia Pacific, with the Canadian pension fund manager committing A$1.0 billion ($693 million) to a subordinated hybrid securities offer by NextDC.

The Quebec-based organisation has made a binding commitment to take up the full size of the offer, according to an announcement filed with the Australian Securities Exchange on Tuesday, with NextDC said to be using the capital to fund construction of its contracted pipeline through to fiscal 2029.

“The announcement of the hybrid securities offer and the La Caisse commitment represent another step toward NextDC delivering on a material step-change in the scale of our business as we deliver on the Company’s contracted forward order book across the period to FY29,” chief executive Craig Scroggie said.

The deal lifts NextDC’s pro-forma liquidity, including cash and undrawn facilities, to approximately A$5.2 billion, according to the company.

Hybrid Structure

The 100-year securities carry a 7.50 percent per annum initial coupon and a non-call period of five years. Coupons may be deferred at NextDC’s election, and the securities sit outside the company’s senior debt covenants.

The hybrid securities rank junior to all of NextDC’s existing and future debt, while still standing senior to ordinary shares. The instruments do not include provisions for conversion to equity.

The offer closes on or around 23 April 2026, according to the announcement, with NextDC acknowledging that La Caisse’s final allocation may be less than its full A$1.0 billion commitment depending on demand from other institutional investors.

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. Contracted utilisation reached 416.6MW as of February 2026, with a forward order book of 296.8MW. 

In December of last year the company 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. 

Digital Infrastructure Pivot

La Caisse’s first direct investment in Asia Pacific’s data centre sector comes as the  Quebec fund builds exposure to the industry after years of caution.

As recently as May last year, Emmanuel Jaclot, La Caisse’s executive vice-president and head of infrastructure, said the fund had held back from data centres because it was unable to find the right risk-return balance, according to an interview published by ION Analytics.

Then in July 2025 La Caisse teamed with DigitalBridge to take joint control of US data centre player Yondr Group in a $5.8 billion deal — the fund’s first direct equity stake in a data centre company.

Yondr’s portfolio at the time included a 300MW-plus hyperscale campus in Johor, Malaysia, anchored by a long-term lease to Oracle. Vantage Data Centers — another DigitalBridge portfolio company — subsequently acquired the Johor campus as part of a $1.6 billion investment in its APAC platform by GIC and ADIA, closing in November 2025.

La Caisse had previously backed data centres through debt. It provided up to Euros 300 million ($347 million) as part of a Euros 750 million facility for Vantage’s EMEA platform in 2024, and last month provided C$240 million ($172 million) in senior debt for Cologix’s MTL8 campus in Montreal in March 2026.

“This commitment will help underpin NextDC’s construction program, supporting growing demand for digital infrastructure in Australia,” Jaclot said. La Caisse manages C$517 billion in net assets and already has C$15 billion invested in Australia across infrastructure, private equity and logistics real estate, according to its website.

Stacking Capital

Tuesday’s offer follows NextDC’s expansion of its senior debt facilities to A$6.4 billion in August 2025, which extended its weighted average loan maturity to 5.6 years.

NextDC also intends to pursue a subordinated wholesale notes issue in the Australian dollar market. That transaction would rank senior to the hybrid securities and is expected to follow completion of the current offer.

Barrenjoey is sole structuring adviser and lead manager. Cadence Advisory and Mallesons are advising NextDC as financial and legal advisers respectively.

NextDC will be able to put its new cash to use on projects including a A$1.3 billion Melbourne data centre campus which received development approval in December. During that same month NextDC announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop a Sydney data centre campus.

Settlement of the hybrid securities is expected shortly after the 23 April closing date, conditional on matters within the company’s control.