ICRA assigns provisional AA- rating to Yotta Infrastructure’s proposed non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of NMDC

Credit rating agency ICRA has assigned an AA- (Stable) rating for the proposed non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of NMDC Data Centre Private Limited (NMDC). The rating is provisional subject to the completion of certain documentation for the proposed NCDs issuance by NMDC. NMDC is part of Yotta Infrastructure – Hiranandani group’s data center business in India.

The assigned rating for the proposed NCDs of NMDC factors in the strong track record of the Hiranandani Group with over four decades of experience in the real estate sector, including the construction of large-scale IT buildings and data centers. ICRA also weighed in the benefits from the Tier-IV certification of NM1 data center, with 99.995% uptime, which enables NMDC to command premium pricing vis-à-vis data centers with lower tier structures.

NMDC campus is the largest single-location data center in India spread across two towers (NM1 – 30.4 MW and NM2 – 35.2 MW capacities respectively). NM1 is Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest Tier IV data center demonstrating the highest degree of reliability in operations. It is India’s only Tier IV constructed data center facility with certification for its construction and operations. Yotta is the fastest-growing data center company in India with a target capacity of over 500 MW in the next 4 years.

The demand for data centers is expected to increase, driven by the Government’s initiatives such as Digital India, the personal data protection bill, rapidly growing cloud computing, increasing internet penetration, and adoption of new technologies (5G, IoT, etc). The Stable outlook on the [ICRA]AA- rating reflects ICRA’s opinion that NMDC will continue to benefit from the healthy demand prospects for data centers, strong leasing pipeline, and structural features of the proposed debt instrument.

About the development, Darshan Hiranandani, Chairman, and Co-founder, Yotta, said, “We are committed to participating in the Make in India and Digital India initiatives of the Government of India by providing integrated services of colocation, cloud, and a range of managed services to Indian and global companies. Yotta’s focus is on a scalable self-service model with a cloud-based self-service portal which also provides a platform to store and access data in India.”

He further added, “NMDC is Yotta’s flagship data center project showcasing the group’s delivery capabilities (construction, delivery, implementation, and Tier IV certification). The credit rating further validates our commitment and the creditworthiness of our flagship project (NM1). Yotta is committed and is following the world’s best practices in technology, business practices, innovation, and financing solutions.”

WhiteBoard Financial Advisors And Management (WBFAM) is the sole Rating Advisor and Transaction Advisor for NMDC.