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ESR and CloudHQ Partner for $2 Billion Data Centre Campus in Japan

ESR Group, a Hong Kong-based real estate manager, has announced a partnership with U.S.-based data centre provider CloudHQ to co-develop and operate a $2 billion data centre campus in Osaka, Japan. The facility will be built in three phases, with the first phase set to be operational by June 2025, delivering 25 megawatts (MW) of capacity.

This collaboration comes at a time when the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling a global surge in data centre investments, with real estate managers, private equity firms, and global investors racing to meet this demand. The new campus in Nanko Kita, Osaka, is expected to offer a total of 130 MW of data centre capacity upon completion.

ESR views this joint venture as a significant step in its broader strategy to expand and enhance its data centre capabilities. According to Diarmid Massey, CEO of ESR Data Centres, the company remains confident in the long-term growth potential of the data centre market in Japan and across the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Starboard Builds 7.7% Stake in Chipmaker Qorvo, WSJ Reports

Activist investment firm Starboard Value has accumulated a 7.7% stake in the semiconductor company Qorvo, valued at approximately $500 million, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The details of the investment are expected to be disclosed in a securities filing scheduled for Friday morning.

While the specific intentions of Starboard regarding Qorvo remain unclear, the investment firm is reportedly seeking to push for changes at the company, which has been struggling with a lagging stock price. Both Starboard Value and Qorvo have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Starboard, led by Jeffrey Smith, is recognized as one of the world’s leading activist investors and has recently advocated for changes at companies like Pfizer, News Corp, and Salesforce.

 

Goodman Group Surges Amid Australian Data-Centre Expansion

Goodman Group’s stock has soared this year, outshining its Australian property peers thanks to its strategic push into the data-centre sector. The rising demand for artificial intelligence services has driven major cloud service providers, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, to invest heavily in data centres. This trend has sparked a surge in Australia’s nascent data-centre market, with companies like Blackstone and NEXTDC also making significant investments.

Goodman Group, Australia’s largest property developer, counts leading global hyperscalers as customers. While the company has not disclosed the identities of these clients, its portfolio clearly reflects the growing need for data centres, with 42% of its A$12.8 billion portfolio under construction dedicated to these specialized facilities. This expansion has helped boost Goodman’s stock by 45.8% this year, positioning it for its best performance since 2006.

Despite the strong growth, some market analysts caution that the high valuations of data-centre-focused stocks might signal a cooling investor sentiment. Concerns include the potential for obsolescence in data-centre infrastructure and increased competition in the market. However, Goodman’s robust pipeline, access to land with power supply, and ongoing investment into the sector continue to fuel optimism about its future prospects.