NAB today delivered its inaugural senior unsecured bond for Australian company NEXTDC, with the fast-growing data centre operator seeking to raise a minimum of $30 million.

NEXTDC this morning announced the new unlisted corporate bond, expected to attract professional and sophisticated investors in the Australian capital markets.

NAB is the sole arranger and bookrunner for the issue, and this deal points to another significant milestone in the development of Australia’s corporate bond market. NEXTDC is an ASX300 company and Australia’s leading Data-Centre-as-a-Service (DCaaS) provider, primarily supporting the cloud computing industry. Its clients include Australia Post, Telstra, Optus and AAPT.

NAB Executive General Manager Debt Markets, Steve Lambert, said the transaction provided core growth funding for a key industry participant in Australia’s future.

“It clearly shows how the bond market can be supportive of our growing companies and complementary to a healthy bank market. The corporate bond market provides NEXTDC with a new and differentiated investor base focused on the cash flow generation capabilities of the company now and into the future,” Mr Lambert said.

“NAB’s support for, and belief in, its customers is what sets the bank apart from its competitors. Our arrangements for NEXTDC are a perfect example of how we work in partnership with our clients to deliver successful company-building funding solutions.”

NEXTDC’s debut offering will diversify the company’s debt funding sources and importantly develops a footprint with investors in the debt capital markets.

NEXTDC CEO Craig Scroggie said NAB presented NEXTDC with a compelling total debt capital solution across both the bank and bond markets that reflected the bank’s maturity.

“We’re delighted to have partnered with NAB in its inaugural corporate bond offering. What attracted us to NAB is its balance sheet support and extensive credit structuring and distribution capabilities across many channels which provide NEXTDC with a one-stop shop for our debt capital requirements,” Mr Scroggie said.

In recent years, NAB has established itself as the key proponent of a deep and liquid corporate bond market to benefit all facets of the Australian economy.

This transaction successfully links NAB’s important business client in NEXTDC with NAB’s investor base – the largest collective distribution channels in the Australian market – while simultaneously supporting the growth of the corporate bond market.