AetherGrid Digital Infrastructure — Exit Strategy & Investor Returns
The exit routes and the exit economics available to equity investors over the investment horizon.
Section 12 · Business Plan
Exit Strategy & Investor Returns
The exit routes and the exit economics available to equity investors over the investment horizon.
12.1 Exit routes
- Infrastructure-fund sale (primary route). A
stabilised, contracted, cash-generative data centre platform is a prime
target for infrastructure and pension funds seeking long-dated,
inflation-linked, annuity-like returns, the deepest buyer pool for this
asset class, as demonstrated by the infrastructure-fund ownership of
peers. - Strategic acquisition. Sale to a global operator
(Digital Realty, Equinix, NTT, Vantage) building African scale, for whom
the carrier-neutral interconnection base and multi-metro footprint are
strategically valuable. - Recapitalisation / re-leveraging. Refinancing
stabilised campuses at higher gearing (toward 50–60%) releases equity
value ahead of a full exit, a natural step given the conservative
initial structure. - IPO / REIT listing (long-dated option). At full
scale with an operating track record, a public listing or
infrastructure-REIT structure offers exit optionality, subject to market
conditions.
12.2 Exit economics
Two exit cases frame the return. The sponsor applies
an 18x EV/EBITDA multiple to Year-10 EBITDA of R6,550m, an enterprise
value of R117.9bn and, after net debt, equity value of about R119bn,
producing a ~31% IRR and 7.5x equity multiple. This Memorandum’s base
case applies a conservative 13x, reflecting a South African country- and
currency-risk discount to the 20–25x at which global peers trade: an
enterprise value near R85bn and equity value near R86bn, for an equity
IRR of about 28.0% at a 6.0x multiple. The critical point is that the
return is strong even on the conservative multiple, the 18x case is
upside, not a requirement.
| Exit metric | Conservative (13x) | Sponsor (18x) |
|---|---|---|
| Year-10 EBITDA (R m) | 6,550 | 6,550 |
| EV/EBITDA multiple | 13.0x | 18.0x |
| Enterprise value (R m) | 85,150 | 117,900 |
| Less net debt (R m) | (768) | (768) |
| Equity value (R m) | 85,918 | 118,668 |
| Equity IRR | 28.0% | 33.1% |
| Equity multiple | 6.0x | 8.1x |
Because value concentrates in the terminal event, equity investors
underwrite a long build-and-lease-up J-curve and the resolution of the
power and occupancy questions. The mitigant is the asset backing and the
contracted, recurring cash flow: a stabilised, interconnection-dense
platform has a deep secondary market and tangible, hard-to-replicate
asset value that supports valuation even under multiple compression.
Confidential — this business plan is provided to prospective investors and lenders for evaluation purposes only and may not be reproduced or distributed without the written consent of AetherGrid Digital Infrastructure Holdings (Pty) Ltd.