British-based infrastructure asset manager Amber Infrastructure has made its first foray into digital assets in Australia, buying a majority stake in Brisbane-based data centre operator iseek Communications.
While the terms of the deal were undisclosed, it is expected to be worth upwards of $110 million.
The purchase is an unusual one for Amber, which historically has stuck to social infrastructure assets such as public hospitals and transport, but is a sign of things to come for the local branch of the multinational asset manager.
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Amber’s head of Asia-Pacific, Vaughan Wallace, said the fund was planning to buy up more mid-market digital infrastructure assets.
“There has been a deliberate push to broaden the business,” he said.
“There’s very few opportunities in the digital space unless you want to get involved in Singtel-style tower shootouts. Our focus … will be in the mid-market space.
“There’s a lot of money chasing the larger transactions. But that’s not our best opportunity to get involved. Our best opportunities are smaller to mid-sized stuff, with private equity looking to move out [of an asset] a good opportunity for infrastructure investors like us to step in. And that’s what happened on this transaction.”
Amber has $7 billion worth of social infrastructure assets under management in Australia and employs 18 people locally…see full article.
