DLA Piper has successfully advised HMC Capital, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed alternative asset manager, on the launch of DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, a new real estate trust focused on digital infrastructure assets, particularly data centers in Australia and the US. The fully underwritten initial public offering (IPO) is valued at an impressive US$2.74 billion, marking it as the largest IPO in Australia this year and the biggest since 2018.
The DigiCo REIT portfolio includes three data centers located in the US: a US$712 million data center under construction in Chicago, which is fully leased to a leading global hyperscale customer, sold by a joint venture between Prologis and Skybox Data Centers; an existing US$98 million data center in Richardson, TX; and a US$150 million data center in Olathe, KS, both fully leased to a high investment-grade North American financial institution.
Michael Rechtin, the DLA Piper partner who led the deal, commented, “The demand for digital infrastructure is growing rapidly, driven by advancements in high-performance computing and modern technology. It was a privilege to work with HMC Capital to bring these significant data center transactions to fruition.” He further extended his congratulations to HMC Capital on behalf of the entire DLA Piper team.
In addition to Rechtin (Chicago), the DLA Piper team included partners Kaila Sergent (Los Angeles), Brian Fielden (Atlanta), and Andrew Cooper (Washington, DC), of counsels Nia M. Brown (Washington, DC) and Scott Josephson (Chicago), and associates Chrisdo Fan (Los Angeles) and Chris Henry (Washington, DC).
DLA Piper’s Real Estate practice, with approximately 200 real estate lawyers in the US and 500 globally, continues to be a market leader, offering a comprehensive range of services from acquisitions and sales to real estate fund formation, REITs, financing, zoning, development, and more. The firm handles a wide array of transactions, from billion-dollar deals to individual property acquisitions, financing, leasing, and sales.
