Digital Core REIT to raise $600 million in Singapore's biggest IPO this year

(Reuters) - Digital Core REIT, sponsored by U.S.-listed Digital Realty Trust, is set to raise $600 million in an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore, the largest listing in the city-state this year, the company said in its prospectus on Monday.

The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which owns 10 freehold data centres in the United States and Canada worth around $1.4 billion, is issuing 682 million units at $0.88 per a piece, excluding a greenshoe option worth $47 million.

The offering is more than double the total raised so far this year in Singapore at $258.9 million, yet still ranking behind neighbours such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, data by Refinitiv showed.

The city-state is on track for its weakest showing of IPOs and secondary listings since 2015 if the Digital Core REIT issue goes ahead, according to the data.

Graphic: Singapore IPOs this year set for lowest tally since 2015 https://graphics.reuters.com/SINGAPORE-IPO/myvmnkzdkpr/chart.png Blackrock Inc, Eastspring Investments, Fullerton Fund Management and AIA Investment Management are among the cornerstone investors in the IPO. Cornerstone investors are buying shares worth $365 million, or 61% of the total offer.

Shares totalling $223 million are being placed to other institutions, while the retail component, around $12 million, opens on Monday.

The REIT will list on Dec. 6.

BofA Securities, Citigroup and DBS Group are joint bookrunners for the IPO.

(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anshuman Daga and Kim Coghill)

By Nikhil Nainan