Today, Macquarie Asset Management (“MAM”) reached financial close for its previously announced partnership with Applied Digital Corporation. The partnership features a preferred equity financing facility of up to $US5.0 billion from MAM, dedicated to supporting the development, ownership, and operation of high-performance computing (HPC) data centers designed to serve hyperscale and artificial intelligence (“AI”) clients.
Applied Digital is nearing completion of the first 100MW building of the planned 400MW AI Factory campus in Ellendale, North Dakota (“Polaris Forge 1”), which is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025. The full 400MW campus has been leased to CoreWeave, Inc., a U.S.-based, publicly-traded cloud computing company which provides GPU infrastructure to hyperscale and AI customers. Applied Digital has also started work on its second campus in near Harwood, North Dakota (“Polaris Forge 2”), which is expected to be over 200MW and to commence operations by the end of 2026.
At financial close, MAM funded $US112.5 million, with the remaining $US787.5 million to be funded over time as construction progresses at Polaris Forge 1 and project finance is put in place, and as further leasing occurs at Polaris Forge 2 and other locations in the Company’s pipeline. As the partnership secures additional leases, MAM will have the right to invest above the initial $900 million commitment up to an aggregate of $US5.0 billion of cumulative preferred equity in partnership with Applied Digital.
“As the demand for AI and HPC capacity continues to accelerate, we believe Applied Digital will distinguish itself as a valuable partner to hyperscale customers, with its differentiated portfolio of near-term power availability that has been built by a pioneering leadership team,” said Anton Moldan, Senior Managing Director of Macquarie Asset Management. “We are excited to partner with Applied Digital to build and scale its HPC data center platform. Our global experience as an owner and manager of some of the largest private data center platforms in the world positions us as an ideal partner to help Applied Digital become an industry-leading data center platform.”
“Securing this funding at the asset level is especially important in an asset-heavy business like ours. It gives us the capital to complete Polaris Forge 1 and provides a clear path to scale additional campuses. With MAM’s support, we’re able to strengthen our balance sheet and accelerate the build-out of our AI Factory platform. With MAM’s expertise and relationships, we believe Applied Digital is well positioned to remain as one of the fastest-growing developers in the U.S,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Digital.
Source: Macquarie
