Linklaters has advised on Australian data centre operator AirTrunk’s USD2.3 billion green financing to develop its JHB2 hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
AirTrunk said the transaction was Malaysia’s largest green project financing for a single data centre and the company’s biggest single-asset financing to date.
The green loan was supported by 30 domestic and international financial institutions, creating one of the largest lender groups for the financing of a Malaysian data centre project. It also represents AirTrunk’s first financing involving the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Ten global co-ordinators led the financing: BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank, ING Bank, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, HSBC and United Overseas Bank.
CIMB Bank, Clifford Capital Credit Solutions, IFC, National Bank of Kuwait and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) acted as mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank, ING Bank and HSBC were the green loan co-ordinators.
Linklaters represented the global co-ordinators, mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and bookrunners, as well as the green loan co-ordinators. Partners Alessandro Nolet and Douglas Doherty led the team, which also included counsel Jia-Fang Lee, solicitors Simon Ni and Timothy Lam, associates Rory Tredwell, Nicole Ngan, Jiwoo Seol and Jessica Tse, and trainee solicitors Audrey Loo, Justin Soh and Asha Ross.
Additional support was provided by partner Alaister Johnson, counsel Jia-Yi Tay and legal executive Eloise Munro.
AirTrunk said the JHB2 data centre campus would be designed to achieve a target power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.37 and incorporate advanced water-efficient cooling technology.
