Global Switch picks banks for over $1 billion IPO

Hong Kong: Global Switch, the UK data centre operator, has chosen arrangers for a proposed Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise more than $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The London-based company picked CLSA Ltd, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to lead the deal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Morgan Stanley is also among banks that were chosen to work on the share sale, which could take place as soon as this year, the people said.

Billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben sold a 49 per cent stake in Global Switch to Asian investors including Chinese steelmaker Shagang Group in 2016. Last year, they offloaded another 25 per cent holding to a group that included the steelmaker and China Citic Bank International.

Any deal would add to the $35.4 billion of first-time share sales in Hong Kong over the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The largest IPO over the period was China Tower Corp.’s $7.5 billion deal in August, the data show.

A representative for Shagang Group said she couldn’t immediately comment. Global Switch didn’t immediately respond to emailed queries outside regular business hours in London. Spokeswomen for CLSA, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Global Switch, founded in 1998, owns and operates 11 data centers totalling 340,000 square meters (3.7 million square feet) across Europe and Asia Pacific, according to its website.