ASX stock Global Data Centre Group (ASX: GDC) has tumbled into the red on Monday and is now swapping hands 7.12% lower at $3.26 apiece.
The selloff comes after the company announced it would earn $123 million in proceeds from the sale of its interest in data centre provider AirTrunk.
A hefty cash return from an investment should be good news for shareholders. So why are investors hitting the sell button? Let's have a look.
AirTrunk deal nets $123 million for ASX stock
Global Data Centre announced it would receive a $123 million payment from its passive investment in AirTrunk after the Sydney-based data centre operator was sold to a consortium led by Blackstone last week.
The company holds this indirect stake through a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management (MAM).
Together with The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), MAM held an 88% stake in AirTrunk.
MAM and PSP made the initial investment in 2020, putting $3 billion into the venture.
During the 2020-2024 period, AirTrunk expanded from five to eleven sites, bringing its network into Japan and Malaysia.
At the point of sale, it had more than 1.8GW of capacity, up from just 450MW three years prior.
As part of its expansion strategy, Blackstone completed the deal last week – valuing AirTrunk at a staggering $24 billion.
Consequently, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is another ASX stock benefiting from the deal.
How does Global Data Centre Group benefit?
Being a unitholder in an investment fund managed by MAM, Global Data Centre is set to receive a lump sum of $123 million cash from the sale proceeds.
For now, the company has committed to distributing the proceeds to shareholders.
As an investor in the MAM-led consortium, GDC's proceeds from the transaction are anticipated to be ~A$123 million equating to ~$1.59 per security. Closing of the transaction will be conditional upon regulatory approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
GDC intends to distribute the proceeds available from the transaction to securityholders after closing.
Interestingly, the ASX stock has sold off sharply on the back of the news. This may be some profit-taking or investors wanting the company to retain and reinvest the funds.
After all, dividends, special or not, can create a tax event.
But the company also wasn't clear on what's next. It didn't guide its next steps after distributing the cash to shareholders.
No decision has been made as to the future operations of GDC following the distribution of proceeds available from the transaction and from the sale of its other assets, Etix Everywhere and Perth Data Centre.
This may be weighing in on the ASX stock. Time will tell the long-term impacts of this decision on its market value.
Foolish takeaway
The $123 million of proceeds to Global Data Centre Group can't go unnoticed. But investors have not bought the news, and have sold the ASX stock today instead.
In the last 12 months, Global Data shares have gained 84%, outpacing the broader market by 73%.
