Bangladeshi-born founder’s Australian startup acquired for $16 bln

AirTrunk, a data centre group founded by Bangladeshi-Australian entrepreneur Robin Khuda, is set to change hands in a USD 16.1 billion (AUD 23 billion) deal. 

American alternative investment management company Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) are acquiring AirTrunk from Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP). 

According to a recent Reuters report, this is Blackstone's largest investment in the Asia Pacific region. At USD 16.1 billion, the deal is the largest buyout in Australia this year and one of the biggest in recent history, states the report.

In 2020, AirTrunk gained significant attention when Macquarie Group's infrastructure division acquired a majority stake (88%), valuing the company at around $3 billion. The latest deal not only cements Khuda's status as a key player in the tech industry but also shines a spotlight on the contributions of South Asian Australian founders, further adds the report.

Arriving in Sydney from Bangladesh at the age of 18, Khuda pursued an accounting degree at the University of Technology Sydney, followed by an MBA in finance from Manchester Business School in the UK and further studies in the USA. The now 45-year-old tech entrepreneur's transition from the corporate world to the startup arena, initially funded by his retirement savings, has culminated in the creation of AirTrunk, according to SmartCompany, an Australian publication.

AirTrunk, regarded as the largest data centre group in Asia Pacific, has 11 sites across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It was founded in 2015 in Sydney.