HMC is set to pay AU$400 million ($264m) for Australian data center operator iseek as it prepares to publicly list its digital infrastructure portfolio in a move that could raise $AU4 billion ($2.64bn).

The asset manager will form a new company, DigiCo Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which will be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

It will manage 13 data centers serving 586 customers, the filing said.

These will include seven sites currently belonging to iseek, which HMC intends to acquire in a deal that will see it pay AU$150 million up front, with an AU$250m scrip in DigiCo REIT, the value of which will be realized once the new company is up and running.

HMC announced its intention to form DigiCo REIT last month when it bought the Australian operations of Global Switch in a deal worth AU$2.12 billion (US$1.41bn). In July, it purchased North American digital infrastructure investor StratCap for US$28.5 million.

“Iseek is a leading colocation data center platform with a high-quality and diverse customer base across government, hyperscale, and enterprise customers,” said HMC managing director and CEO David Di Pilla. “This acquisition is also highly complementary to our recent acquisition of Global Switch Australia with a number of benefits including enhanced geographic and customer diversification.”

Founded in 1998, iseek runs seven data centers across Brisbane, Northern Queensland, Sydney, and Adelaide with a total IT capacity of 6MW. In February, it appointed Scott Hicks as CEO and said it intended to grow its portfolio.

Hicks and executive director Jason Gomersall, the company’s founder, believe joining forces with DigiCo will help achieve this.

In a joint statement, the pair said: “A significant portion of the acquisition proceeds will be taken in scrip in the DigiCo Infrastructure REIT IPO, which is a testament to our strong conviction in the REIT's investment strategy and growth runway.”