Digital 9 Infrastructure PLC raises £300mln in its initial public offering

PLC has raised fresh capital of £300mln through its initial public offering, issuing 300mln shares at a pound a pop.

The newly established, externally managed investment trust has been set up to invest in a range of digital infrastructure assets that deliver a reliable, functioning internet.

According to the company, the portfolio will comprise “future-proofed, non-legacy, scalable platforms and technologies including (but not limited to) subsea fibre, data centres, terrestrial fibre, tower infrastructure and small cell networks (including 5G)”.

The company will focus, primarily, on digital infrastructure investments that are operational and have an existing customer base.

Its first investment will be the acquisition of Aqua Comms, which owns and operates around 14,300 kilometres of trans-Atlantic sub-sea fibre systems.

“We expect to close this first transaction next week, underpinning our 6p dividend target,” said Jack Waters, the chair of Digital 9.

The company said in its prospectus it is targeting a 10% a year net total accounting return, including an initial 6% dividend yield.

The company’s investment manager will be Triple Point; according to Thor Johnsen, the head of digital infrastructure at Triple Point Investment Management, there is a “deep pipeline of assets” that the investment manager is examining.

“We have collectively experienced the digital transformation in our society over the last few decades (and particularly in the last 12 months), and we believe we are at the dawn of a broader transformation. Together with the initial cornerstone investment into Aqua Comms, D9 will be focused on global investment into the critical infrastructure driving this unstoppable force of change. Importantly, at the heart of the D9 investment thesis will be ESG considerations of digital inclusion and environmental impact.