GDS Announces Landmark US$587 Million Equity Raise For its International Business

SHANGHAI, China, March 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GDS Holdings Limited (the “Company” or “GDSH”) (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698), a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China and South East Asia, today announced that GDSH’s wholly-owned subsidiary, DigitalLand Holdings Limited (“GDS International” or “GDSI”), that acts as the holding company for GDSH’s international data center assets and operations, has entered into definitive agreements for certain institutional private equity investors (the “Investors”) to subscribe for US$587 million of Series A convertible preferred shares (the “Series A”) newly issued by GDSI. This transaction is a significant step forward in the Company’s strategy to obtain dedicated financing for the development of its international business on a standalone basis.

GDS International was established in 2022 with its corporate headquarters in Singapore. Its portfolio currently comprises 330 MW of data center capacity in service and under construction and a further 340 MW held for future development across strategic locations in, among others, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia (Johor), and Indonesia (Batam). GDSI has secured commitments and reservations from global and China customers for over 200 MW of capacity, of which over 70 MW is already revenue-generating.

The Series A subscription price implies a pre-money equity valuation for GDSI of US$750 million, which is approximately US$3.92 per American Depositary Share of GDSH. GDSI’s implied post-money enterprise valuation, including GDSI’s forecast net debt of around US$935 million at the end of 2024, is around US$2.3 billion, which is equivalent to around 24 times GDSI’s forecast Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2025.

As of December 31, 2023, GDSH had provided a total of approximately US$595 million of inter-company funding to GDSI, comprising approximately US$411 million of paid-up share capital and US$184 million of shareholder loans and other payables. On a pro forma basis including the proceeds of the Series A new issue, GDSI will have a total paid-up share capital of approximately US$1.0 billion and will be sufficiently well-capitalized to complete the development of its current portfolio of data center capacity in service and under construction, without requiring further inter-company funding from GDSH. The shareholder loans and other payables due from GDSI to GDSH at the closing of the transaction (the “Closing”) will be repaid immediately after the Closing out of the proceeds of the Series A new issue.