GDS Holdings announces launch of IPO for C-REIT on Shanghai Stock Exchange

GDS Holdings (GDS) announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Shanghai Stock Exchange have approved the registration and launch of an initial public offering for its China REIT. The transaction involves the sale by GDS of 100% equity interest in a project company which holds stabilized data center assets to a newly formed C-REIT. The C-REIT will fund the acquisition through an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. GDS will subscribe for 20% of the units to be issued by the C-REIT, with the remaining 80% to be subscribed by institutional and retail investors. 50% of the units have already been pre-placed with cornerstone institutional investors, with lock-up commitments of between one to three years. The remaining 30% will be offered through an institutional book building process and a retail public offering. The appraised valuation of the underlying data center assets to be acquired by the C-REIT, as per the valuation report contained in the offering memorandum, is approximately RMB 1,933 million. The final offering price for the C-REIT units will be determined following completion of the institutional book building, which is expected in approximately one week’s time. The transaction is expected to close within the next few weeks and is subject to certain closing conditions.