The manager of Singapore’s Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT), has agreed to pay US$211m (€187m) to buy the remaining 60% interest in 14 US data centres from an associated US company.

MIT has also announced a proposed private placement to raise a minimum of S$350m (€223m), partly to fund the acquisition, but also to reduce the trust’s debt and provide future working capital.

MIT said the 60% to be acquired was currently held by Mapletree Redwood Data Centre (MRDC), in which the Singapore-listed vehicle had 40% interest.

In October 2017, Mapletree Investments and Mapletree Industrial Trust formed the MRDC joint venture to acquire the 14 data centres for US$750 from Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT, giving Mapletree a footprint in the fast-growing global market for data centres.

Tham Kuo Wei, CEO of the manager, Mapletree Industrial Trust Management, said: “The proposed acquisition increases our exposure to the resilient data centre segment and deepens our presence in the US.

“The US is the largest and most-established data centre market in the world. It offers attractive growth prospects, and is well-supported by favourable supply-demand dynamics.”

The 14 data centres are 97.4% leased to 15 tenants. They sit on freehold land strategically located in established data centre markets stretching from California to Texas.

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