Yondr Group, a global developer, owner, and operator of hyperscale data centres, has raised a $150-million loan facility from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
The funding will be used for the construction of the first phase of its hyperscale campus in Johor, Malaysia, the company said on Friday. Yondr’s Johor campus, located in Sedenak Tech Park, is expected to become the largest hyperscale data centre campus in Southeast Asia with 300MW+ IT load power capacity situated on 72.5 acres of land.
The campus aims to facilitate regional businesses’ access to the latest generation AI-cloud workloads, boosting productivity growth and enhancing the availability of digital services for individuals. Johor is chosen due to its proximity to Singapore, offering important interconnectivity routes and scalable digital infrastructure.
Earlier in March, Yondr powered up its 275kV high-voltage substation at the Johor campus, marking a major milestone since the company’s entry into Malaysia in March 2022.
“We are very pleased to conclude this round of financing with IFC. Not only do our values and interests align but we are both organisations well-versed in offering industry-leading expertise to develop digital infrastructure projects,” said Chester Reid, Chief Financial Officer at Yondr, in a statement.
This financing demonstrates the potential IFC sees not only in Yondr’s best-in-class capabilities but also in Malaysia’s rapidly developing digital economy, Reid added.
Yondr is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathexis Holdings LP, a US-based family office with interests in construction, data centres, real estate, and energy. It constructs and operates large, built-to-suit hyperscale data centres.
In December 2023, DealStreetAsia reported that IFC has proposed an investment of up to $225 million in the company to finance its project in Malaysia. In addition to the $150-million debt, the investment also involves a proposed $75-million MCP loan that will be used to finance Phase 1 of a greenfield 96 MW DC in Sedenak Tech Park (STeP) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
The project will require an electricity substation and backup generator as well as a lithium-based battery UPS system.
“We are excited to partner with Yondr for this significant data centre investment in Malaysia. This project will help increase and improve digital connectivity for individuals and businesses sustainably while increasing the competitiveness of the burgeoning market for data-hosting services in the country,” said Katia Daude Gonçalves, country manager for Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei at IFC.