(Alliance News) - Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd on Wednesday announced the acquisition of two digital infrastructure investments, together worth around GBP406 million, as well as plans for a placing as all of the proceeds from its C share issue are now fully committed.
Cordiant, which is an investment firm focused on digital infrastructure assets, also said it has revised its dividend guidance for the 2022 financial year, starting April 1, having increased it to 4 pence per share. This is up from 3p for the current financial year.
This means that the company has hit its IPO dividend target four years early. Cordiant plans to target a progressive dividend after financial 2022.
Looking at the acquisitions, Cordiant has agreed to buy the assets of DataGryd Datacenters LLC for USD74 million, about GBP54.7 million. DataGryd is an interconnect data centre in New York, with its assets constituting the full operational platform and "assumed certain operational liabilities".
The DataGryd acquisition will be funded from the company's available cash resources.
"These assets will constitute a data centre operating platform in the US that will operate under a new brand name reflective of both its strategic positioning and significant growth potential in this important interconnect market," Cordiant said. It also noted that more than half of DataGryd's existing footprint is leased to blue chip customers.
Cordiant, which listed in London in February of last year, plans a USD75 million capital injection over the next three years to facilitate its expansion.
The other acquisition concerns Emitel SA, a multi-asset digital infrastructure business based in Warsaw, for an equity consideration of GBP352 million. Emitel operates over 500 mobile towers, the national broadcast network and five digital terrestrial networks.
This acquisition will be funded through a combination of available cash resources and, if applicable, backstop vendor financing of up to GBP200 million.
Cordiant Chair Shonaid Jemmet-Page said: "These acquisitions will, when completed, complement CRA, our existing portfolio company, and provide an attractive combination of highly cash generative operational assets with long-contracted revenue streams and compelling growth opportunities through building out the platforms."
Following the two acquisitions, Cordiant has now committed fully the money raised via its C share issue in June last year, having raised GBP185 million through the placing of 185.0 million C shares at 100 pence each.
Cordiant announced placing plans at a price of 106 pence per share. Cordiant shares were down 5.1% to 107.75p each in London on Wednesday morning.
The backstop vendor financing for the Emitel acquisition will be substituted, completely or in part, with the proceeds from the placing.
The placing price is a 6.6% discount to the closing price on Tuesday.
By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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Cordiant Digit. (CORD)