Telstra agreed to sell one of its data centres to Centuria Industrial REIT for AUD416.7 million ($300.9 million), as part of a strategy to offload assets worth up AUD2 billion to strengthen its balance sheet.

The asset sale is one component of the company’s Telstra2022 restructuring plan announced in June 2018, aimed at simplifying its operations and product offering, improving customer service and reducing costs.

CEO Andrew Penn (pictured) said the latest deal brings the total raised by Telstra to more than AUD1.5 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The deal includes a 30-year lease allowing Telstra to retain ownership of all IT and telecoms equipment, along with ongoing operations, responsibility for building upgrades and repairs, and future capex requirements and security.

Telstra stated the length of the lease-back agreement means “the transaction will not be treated as a sale under accounting standards, therefore no accounting gain will arise”.

The 3.2-hectare complex comprises ten buildings.