By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Telstra Corporation Ltd. has agreed to sell a data center complex to Centuria Industrial REIT for 416.7 million Australian dollars ($298.4 million) as part of its long-running strategy overhaul.

The mobile and fixed-line communications provider said Wednesday it would lease back the Melbourne complex for an initial 30-year period, with the option to extend for two additional 10-year periods. Telstra said it will still own all IT and telecommunications equipment, and be responsible for building upgrades and repairs, future capex requirements and security.

The transaction is expected to complete before the end of August and will take Telstra's asset sales under Chief Executive Andy Penn's now three-year overhaul past A$1.5 billion, out of a target of A$2 billion.

Telstra said the length of the lease-back means the transaction will not be treated as a sale under accounting standards, so no accounting gain will arise.

Telstra is scheduled to report its FY 2020 results on Aug. 13. 



  Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com