Shares of NEXTDC, Australia's largest listed data center operator, rocketed 50.8% to A$9.85 after two of the world's biggest data center players — Goodman Group and Digital Realty — moved to grab a major stake in the company just weeks after its stock was cut in half by an operational crisis.

  • A A$730 Million Bet Made at the Worst Possible Moment — for NEXTDC. Goodman and Digital Realty, through a joint vehicle called Ackland Investments, conducted an aftermarket raid to acquire a 9.9% stake for roughly A$730 million.

The consortium offered A$9.50 per share, a 45.5% premium to the prior close.

NEXTDC's board called the move "opportunistic," noting it came two weeks after the company disclosed a power supply delay at its M3 Melbourne facility and revised fiscal 2027 guidance. In other words, the buyers swooped in precisely when the stock was at its weakest — a classic distressed-value play that, for current holders, instantly restored billions in lost market capitalization.

  • The Power Outage That Made NEXTDC Vulnerable. Electricity distributor Jemena suspended parts of its 66kV line works near M3 following resident opposition to taller power poles.

NEXTDC then slashed FY27 Underlying EBITDA guidance to A$245–265 million from A$385–410 million, removing about A$140 million tied to affected M3 contracts.

Shares had lost over 40% this year, with the bulk of losses coming in late October. That selloff is what gave the consortium its opening.

  • No Takeover Bid — Yet. Goodman and Digital Realty told investors they had no current intention of making a takeover bid, but reserved the right to do so.

NEXTDC has appointed Barrenjoey and UBS as advisers, indicating it could be preparing a takeover defense. At 9.9%, the buyers land just below the threshold that would trigger mandatory disclosure of a "substantial holder" intention — a textbook positioning move that keeps the door open to a full offer while avoiding regulatory triggers.

  • Brokers Can't Agree on What NEXTDC Is Worth. UBS has a price target of A$18.50 on NEXTDC, while Morgan Stanley targets just A$6.70 — a staggering threefold gap that reflects deep uncertainty over the M3 recovery timeline and the company's ability to convert its contracted pipeline into cash. Today's price of A$9.85 sits almost exactly in the middle, meaning the market is, in effect, pricing a coin flip on whether the power crisis is temporary or structural. For shareholders, the message is clear: two of the smartest operators in global data centers believe the stock was oversold, but whether that confidence translates into a full bid — or merely cheap exposure to Australia's AI infrastructure boom — remains the defining question.