Goodman and Digital Realty confirm 9.9% stake in NEXTDC

At a glance

• Goodman Group and Digital Realty now hold 9.9 per cent of NEXTDC, bought at an average of A$9.22 a share, they told the ASX on 9 November.

• Their joint vehicle bought 7.7 million NEXTDC shares at about A$6.38 each before the A$9.50 raid.

• Most of the stake came through the A$9.50 book build, and the pair kept buying at up to A$10.40 on 6 November.

• The pair want a "potential collaboration" with NEXTDC's board, which says it has had no formal communication from them about their statement, and no proposal.

• NEXTDC has promised the outcome of its capital expenditure review by its 20 November AGM, where shareholders also vote on executive pay.

Goodman Group and Digital Realty own 9.9 per cent of NEXTDC, the ASX-listed operator of data centres in Australia and Malaysia that they raided at A$9.50 a share on 4 November 2026. The pair paid an average of A$9.22 a share, they said in a joint statement to the ASX on 9 November. That is below the A$9.50 a share they offered in the raid, an overnight offer to buy shares from institutional investors, known as a book build, which JPMorgan ran for them.

The pair's substantial holding notice, the filing due once an investor holds 5 per cent or more, was lodged the same day and lists every purchase. Ackland Investments No.1, the vehicle Goodman and Digital Realty own in equal shares, bought 7.7 million NEXTDC shares at about A$6.38 each before the A$9.50 book build. The notice dates those purchases 3 and 4 November, and they cost about A$49 million, by Certified Strategic's calculation. NEXTDC's shares closed at A$6.53 on 4 November, up from A$5.35 on 21 October, and the book build ran after the market closed that day.

Ackland bought most of its stake through the A$9.50 book build

Ackland bought 59.95 million shares at A$9.50 through the book build, about 80 per cent of the stake. The notice dates those shares 5 November. Ackland bought about 1.6 million more that day at A$9.07 to A$9.48.

NEXTDC's shares closed at A$9.85 on 5 November, above the raid price. Ackland bought about 6 million more shares on 6 November at an average of about A$10.06. It paid A$10.40 for 1.075 million of them, the highest price in the notice. That was NEXTDC's closing price on 6 November, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Source: Ackland Investments No.1 substantial holding notice to the ASX, 9 November 2026. Daily averages calculated by Certified Strategic.

The full stake cost about A$694 million. Goodman Limited owns half of Ackland, and Digital Wallaby, a Digital Realty company, owns the other half, according to the notice.

NEXTDC has no proposal from Goodman and Digital Realty

Goodman and Digital Realty say in their joint statement that they have "neither formed nor made any agreement on potential further engagement" beyond the stake. Neither has "any present intention of submitting a control proposal, or making a takeover offer for NEXTDC", although both reserve the right to do so if circumstances change.

The pair also want to work with NEXTDC. They "look forward to a potential collaboration with the NEXTDC board and management on the ways and forms in which the parties may help to address the challenges facing the company", the statement reads.

NEXTDC responded on 9 November that it has received no formal communication from Goodman or Digital Realty about the statement. Its board has no proposal from either company or from Ackland, and shareholders do not need to take any action, the release says.

A 9.9 per cent holding sits under the 10 per cent foreign investment line and the 20 per cent takeover line. Ackland would need approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board before making a formal takeover proposal, the AFR reported.

NEXTDC reports its capex review by 20 November

Any collaboration would come as NEXTDC prepares for its annual general meeting on 20 November. NEXTDC came out of a trading halt on 21 October and cut its FY27 guidance over power delays at NEXTDC M3, its Melbourne campus in West Footscray. It said the same day it would announce the outcome of its capital expenditure review by that meeting, had put new development projects and land acquisitions on hold, and would look at selling selected development sites not needed in the near term.

Shareholders vote on NEXTDC's remuneration report at the same meeting. NEXTDC faces a possible second strike, the AFR reported, meaning a second year in which 25 per cent or more of votes go against the report. Proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis has recommended investors vote it down. Chairman Douglas Flynn will retire once a successor is in place, under the board renewal NEXTDC announced on 26 October.

What to watch

Craig Scroggie at the UBS conference. NEXTDC's chief executive is due to present at the UBS Australasia Conference on the afternoon of 9 November, his first public presentation since NEXTDC's shares fell 42 per cent on its 21 October guidance cut, the AFR reported. UBS is one of NEXTDC's joint lead financial advisers, and was the bank behind its A$1.1 billion notes raise in September.

The capex review. NEXTDC has committed to announcing the outcome by its AGM on 20 November 2026. M3 is on the Melbourne data centre map.

A formal approach. Any proposal from Goodman and Digital Realty, or from another party, would go to the NEXTDC board, which says it holds none.