Australian alternative asset manager HMC Capital is scaling back its U.S. data center investments as it shifts its attention to the cost of developing properties on its home continent. The decision puts multiple data centers on the block.
In separate announcements, HMC disclosed that one of its sponsored real estate investment trusts, Australia-based Digico Infrastructure REIT, agreed to sell its Chicago-area data center for $750 million. In addition, the company is exploring the sale of two data centers in Los Angeles.
Also, HMC’s New York-based nontraded REIT, StratCap Digital Infrastructure REIT, owner of two data centers and a joint venture interest in roughly 150 cell towers, has launched a formal strategic review of its operations.
The moves follow StratCap’s and Digico’s decision early last month to withdraw an application for a new 49.5-megawatt data center at 1977 Saturn St. in Monterey Park, California.
Separately, HMC Capital reported to investors Wednesday it plans to focus on its higher-growth Australian data center investments. The firm seeks to scale back StratCap’s operations and strengthen the balance sheets of Digico.
The Digico transaction in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, is expected to reduce the REIT’s debt load from about $1.1 billion to roughly $360 million, based on current exchange rates. The deal provides financial flexibility and capacity to accelerate an Australian data center development in Sydney, Chris Maher, Digico’s interim CEO, said in a statement.
Maher added that the REIT is exploring options to monetize two data centers in Los Angeles. Not up for sale for the time being are Digico’s data centers in the Dallas and Kansas City markets. Maher said those two properties continue to deliver strong stabilized returns.
Digico and StratCap didn’t immediately return requests for additional comment from CoStar News.
At StratCap, what began as portfolio rebalancing and selective property sales has evolved into a full evaluation of exit and restructuring options.
StratCap owns a 92,900-square-foot data center at 2315 Millpark Drive in Marland Heights, Missouri, and a 33,257-square-foot data center in Santa Clara, California.
The company’s board authorized the strategic review directing management to evaluate a broad range of alternatives to maximize stockholder value, including a potential sale of the company or assets, a merger or recapitalization, an orderly liquidation or continuation of the REIT’s existing strategy, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
StratCap is pairing the review with aggressive measures to preserve liquidity. The REIT has terminated its public offering and distribution reinvestment plan, suspended regular cash distributions after April and partially suspended its share repurchase program, while continuing to honor repurchases tied to death or qualifying disability. The company’s financial adviser has also deferred management fees to preserve liquidity.
Despite having an effective stock sale registration for up to $575 million in shares, the REIT disclosed it had raised only about $31 million in gross proceeds by early 2026. The filing also said portions of distributions beginning in 2025 were funded by sponsor capital rather than operating cash flow, highlighting growing stress.