Gilbert + Tobin (G+T) has assisted global financial institutions Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Natixis in the S$450 million syndicated debt financing to AirTrunk – a leading provider of hyperscale data centres in the Asia-Pacific region – to fund its expansion across Asia and to build the largest neutral data centre in Singapore (at 60 megawatts).

This is the second major transaction G+T has been involved in for AirTrunk; G+T advised a lending syndicate in August 2018 that raised A$850 million to fund AirTrunk’s major expansion in Australia.

G+T acted for Natixis, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, for the Singapore financing. The G+T team assisted the banks in a competitive tender process and consisted of Banking + Infrastructure partners John Schembri, Adela Smith and Robert Trowbridge, supported by lawyers James Frixou, Brent Thompson, and consultants Lisa Hamilton and Mark Nichol.

Partner Adela Smith said, “We are proud to have been involved in this milestone transaction for AirTrunk and its financiers, which involved complex structuring on a tight timetable. We were able to assist the lenders in delivering a unique financing package which allows AirTrunk to continue to grow its operations across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Other counsel for the lenders involved on the transaction included Linklaters (Singapore), Lee & Lee (Singapore) and Conyers Dill & Pearman (Cayman Islands) who advised on the Singaporean and Cayman law aspects of the transaction, respectively. Norton Rose Fulbright, Rajah & Tann and Grant Samuel acted for AirTrunk.

This deal cements G+T’s place as a leader in advising on the most complex cross-border finance transactions in Australia and the Asia Pacific, and the team’s deep understanding of infrastructure assets. G+T’s deal team proved that such financings can be run seamlessly across jurisdictions, providing value and efficiency for sponsors aiming to reduce the amount of lead time required for execution. 

The Banking + Infrastructure team is ranked top tier in Chambers Asia Pacific for Acquisition Finance and Corporate Finance, and has advised on countless energy and infrastructure deals including Beach Energy’s recent A$1.585 billion acquisition of Lattice Energy and Reliance Rail’s A$2 billion refinance.