DigiCo Sells a US Data Centre at a Premium to Fund Sydney Growth

Fund managers say the Chicago sale strengthens the balance sheet and clears the path for further Sydney data centre expansion

21 Jul 2026 · 4 min read

Data centre landlord DigiCo Infrastructure REIT sold its Chicago hyperscaler asset at a premium to its original purchase price, using the proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and refocus on expanding its flagship Sydney facility.

A profitable exit from a non-purpose-built US asset

Pendal Group's May 2026 update reported DigiCo completed the sale of its hyperscaler data centre asset in Chicago, CHI1, for US$750 million, a 5 per cent premium to its original purchase price of US$712 million in December 2024. CHI1 carries 32 megawatts of IT capacity under a 15-year lease agreement with Oracle, and Pendal noted the sale was particularly notable given market concerns around the asset's Oracle lease in a facility that was not purpose-built for data centre use.

Digico Infrastructure REIT (DGT +16.7%) announced the sale of its hyperscaler data centre asset in Chicago, CHI1. The transaction was completed at US$750 million, representing a 5% premium to the original purchase price of US$712 million in December 2024. This outcome is particularly notable given concerns around the asset due to its Oracle lease in a non-purpose-built facility.

— Pendal Group, Newsletter, May 2026

A yield calculation that underscores demand for existing capacity

Pendal's update quantified the sale metrics: the transaction equated to $23.4 million per megawatt at a 5.8 per cent yield, a result Pendal said underscored the market value of existing data centres given the high level of new development activity across the global sector. Proceeds are being used to pay down asset-level debt, generating around A$360 million of cash for DigiCo, with the company continuing to look at selling other smaller US assets.

A deleveraging path clears room for Sydney expansion

Pendal reported DigiCo's leverage is expected to fall from 13.5 times EBITDA in FY26 estimates to 9.8 times in FY27, with earnings increasingly concentrated on its Sydney asset, SYD1, following the US asset sales. DigiCo remains on track to deliver a 20 megawatt upgrade at SYD1 by June 2026, with the site's current capacity fully contracted and a further roughly 44 megawatt expansion to be delivered over the following three years.

A discounted valuation against local peer NEXTDC

Wilson Asset Management's July 2026 update highlighted the broader strategic picture: DigiCo had done a good job selling non-core US assets to replenish its balance sheet, positioning it well to continue expanding the Sydney facility, with additional growth opportunities across the broader HMC platform including an energy transition play in Victoria involving battery and wind assets. Wilson noted the stock trades on around half the multiple of NEXTDC, and at roughly a 40 per cent discount on a net tangible asset basis, a gap it saw as attractive given the company's improved balance sheet position.