By Echo Wang and Milana Vinn
July 13 (Reuters) - Data center operator Switch has hired investment banks for an initial public offering that could raise up to $10 billion as soon as the fourth quarter, according to two people familiar with the matter, and value the company at close to $80 billion, including debt.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have been tapped as lead underwriters for the offering, the people said. The size, timing and valuation remain under discussion and could still change, the sources
said, requesting anonymity because the deliberations are confidential.
The IPO would rank among the largest U.S. stock market debuts in recent years, underscoring investors' appetite for companies benefiting from surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The U.S. IPO market has rebounded this year, led by a pipeline of large technology and AI-related listings including SpaceX, the largest public debut in history, and potential debuts from Anthropic and OpenAI.
U.S. IPO proceeds have totaled $155.5 billion so far this year, the strongest pace since 2021, according to data from Dealogic.
Switch operates large-scale data center campuses that provide the power, cooling and connectivity needed to support AI computing, allowing cloud providers and enterprises to deploy energy-intensive GPU clusters used for training and running artificial intelligence models.
Its customers include Nvidia, Dell Technologies and FedEx.
Switch has held discussions with private investors about raising capital at a valuation of at least $40 billion ahead of the IPO, a third source said. TMT Finance first reported on the preparations for the private round in March.
Switch, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to comment.
TECH PIPELINE GROWS
Data centers have become critical to the AI infrastructure buildout, as companies race to secure computing capacity needed to train and deploy increasingly powerful models. Investors have also shown interest in companies supporting the broader AI infrastructure ecosystem, with upcoming public offerings such as SoftBank-backed SB Energy’s IPO adding to the pipeline of large technology and infrastructure listings.
The pipeline also includes Brookfield-backed data center provider Csquare, which is targeting a valuation of up to $4.18 billion in its U.S. initial public offering. AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems surged in its market debut in May after the company raised $5.55 billion in its IPO.
Reuters was first to report in 2024 that Switch was considering an initial public offering, when discussions were at an early stage.
Las Vegas-based Switch was taken private by DigitalBridge and IFM Investors for $11 billion in 2022. Australian pension fund Aware Super bought a minority stake from Switch's owners in 2023. The company was founded in 2000 by Chief Executive Rob Roy.
Switch's data centers have been powered by renewable energy since 2016, a feature that may appeal to technology companies with decarbonization targets.
(Reporting by Echo Wang and Milana Vinn in New York, editing by Colin Barr and David Gaffen)
