Shares of Australian data center operator NextDC surged more than 42% Thursday after Goodman Group and U.S.-listed data center operator Digital Realty moved to acquire stakes of up to 9.9% in the company.

In a regulatory filing on the same day, NextDC said the two companies conducted an aftermarket bookbuild Wednesday, seeking shares at A$9.50 apiece.

NextDC's board called the move "opportunistic," noting that it came two weeks after the company disclosed a power supply delay at its M3 Melbourne data center and revised its fiscal 2027 guidance.

Shares of NextDC on 5 Nov.

The company said it was not aware of the outcome of the share purchase. Goodman and Digital Realty told investors they had no current intention of making a takeover bid, but reserved the right to do so.

NextDC's rally came against a backdrop of weakness in U.S. data center stocks overnight. Shares of CoreWeave fell about 9%, while Iren dropped roughly 11.2% on Wednesday.

The sell-off followed sweeping Democratic victories in the U.S. midterm elections, which raised expectations of tighter scrutiny and potential restrictions on data center development that could slow the AI infrastructure buildout.