Australian data center firm NextDC has announced plans to raise more than a billion dollars in new funding to meet its latest customer commitments.

The ASX-listed firm this week announced it has increased its contracted utilization by 250MW since the turn of the year, taking its total contracted utilization to 668MW. The company’s forward order book has increased by 247MW to 544MW over the same period.

In order to meet its contracted utilization and the accelerated deployment of S4, NextDC is undertaking a capital raising of approximately AU$1.5 billion (US$1bn) via a new share offering.

The company is also increasing the hybrid securities offer announced earlier this month by AU$700 million (US$501m) through a new delayed draw tranche designed to provide additional capital flexibility.

Canadian investment firm La Caisse has made an incremental AU$700 million binding commitment to the delayed daw series, in addition to its existing AU$1 billion (US$715.9m) binding commitment to the original hybrid offer.

NextDC CEO, Craig Scroggie, said: "The scale of this increase in contracted utilization and the resulting uplift in the company's pro forma forward order book are unprecedented, underscoring the record levels of demand we continue to experience. I am particularly pleased to see our Western Sydney expansion strategy coming to fruition, with contracted capacity at S4 representing the culmination of years of planning and investment by NextDC. The capacity announced today will necessitate the accelerated development of S4."

NextDC broke ground on the 350MW S4, located in the Horsley Park area of Sydney, last month. The company acquired the site in July 2021 and will total 124,000 sqm (1.33 million sq ft) at full build-out.

Scroggie continued: “While raising equity is not a step we take lightly, this is a unique opportunity to materially expand NextDC’s contracted capacity and de-risk the company's Western Sydney developments ahead of potential strategic partnership transactions with private capital partners from 2027. I am pleased to see continued support from La Caisse through their increased commitment to support the enlarged hybrid securities offer."

NextDC operates or is developing 20 data centers across Australia, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Port Hedland, Canberra, Adelaide, the Sunshine Coast, and Darwin. Beyond Australia, NextDC currently has sites in planning or under evaluation in Tokyo, Japan; Bangkok, Thailand; Johor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Singapore.

La Caisse, formerly CDPQ and officially Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has assets totaling C$517bn (US$378bn). Founded by the Quebec government, the firm is the second-largest pension fund in Canada.