This year’s top 10 stories included a peek into AustralianSuper’s international equities build out in London, AMP’s move to slash employee benefits, and plenty of hard-hitting analysis of the issues that matter in institutional investment. But the real story is how readers helped shape all of that coverage.
Orbis’ Stuart Place is riding from Melbourne to the Moon and Back to fund a treatment for the “monster of a disease” that his youngest son was born with. The investment industry is rallying behind him.
The data must flow: AussieSuper bets big on DataBank
It’s a digital age, and – to paraphrase Frank Herbert – whoever controls the data controls the universe.
It’s why AustralianSuper has handed over $2.2 billion for a 20 per cent stake in the US-based DataBank, a data center platform providing enterprise-class edge colocation, interconnection, and managed services, in a move that should supercharge the company’s growth.
“AustralianSuper’s investment in DataBank comes at an exciting time with strong tailwinds across the sector, coupled with DataBank’s ambitious expansion program and diverse business base,” said Jason Peasley, AustralianSuper head of mid risk Portfolios. “We’re delighted to support DataBank, and its experienced leadership team, capitalise on the unprecedented demand for cloud and AI infrastructure.
“DataBank will grow and further diversify our global digital infrastructure exposure, a sector we believe will help deliver sustainable, long-term performance for more than 3.4 million members.”
So-called digital infrastructure assets like data centres sit astride powerful themes like the rise of AI and the shift to cloud computing, and pension funds around the world are pouring billions into them. Aware Super recently joined in on the AU$3.4 billion recapitalisation of euNetworks, a fibre connectivity network that links data centres throughout Europe, while this deal follows AustralianSuper’s acquisition of a “significant minority stake” in Vantage Data Centers EMEA) for $2.5 billion in 2023.
“Along with the continued support of our existing investors, it’s a vote of confidence in our strategy and our proven ability to execute and scale the DataBank platform,” said DataBank CEO Raul Martynek. “This investment, and our new campuses, are a game-changer for DataBank and our customers, allowing us to bring this capacity to market now and seize the incredible opportunity ahead of us.”
AustralianSuper’s global real assets portfolio now totals nearly $60 billion, and includes digital infrastructure assets across Australia, EMEA and South America.
