Wall Street Abuzz Over Chinese Data Center Operator’s IPO

What’s new: Data center operator Chindata Group Holdings Ltd. has filed for a New York IPO to raise around $100 million, according to a company prospectus filed on Tuesday in the U.S.

The company operates nine data centers in China and Malaysia, and is building five more in China and one in India.

The company reported revenue of 811 million yuan ($118.5 million) in the first half of this year, up 74% from pro forma revenue of 467 million yuan a year earlier. Its net loss for the latest six-month period was 59 million yuan, versus a 66 million yuan pro forma loss a year earlier.

Why should we be excited: The company has listed around $100 million as its initial fundraising target, but Reuters previously reported it could be aiming to raise much more — as much as $400 million.

Data centers like the ones operated by Chindata are a critical piece of the high-tech landscape of the future as they house huge amounts of data storage capacity that are the foundation of offsite cloud computing services.

Foreign companies aren’t allowed to own such data centers in China, and thus need to work with third-party operators like Chindata to offer such locally based data storage services.

Related: China’s Leading Bottled Water-Maker Sparkles in Hong Kong IPO

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the company’s IPO prospectus, click here.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

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