Global investment firm KKR has agreed to acquire 20% stake in Singtel’s regional data centre business for up to S$1bn (€687m).
KKR will have the option to increase its stake to 25% by 2027 at the pre-agreed valuation.
KKR is making this investment as part of its Asia infrastructure strategy. This transaction marks KKR’s first collaboration with the Asia communications technology group.
KKR’s investment will be used to accelerate the expansion of Singtel’s RDC business across Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, and explore new markets including Malaysia.
David Luboff, partner, and head of Asia Pacific infrastructure at KKR, said: “Robust digital infrastructure, including high-quality data centres, will play a crucial role in enabling Southeast Asia’s flourishing digital economy, and Singapore is well-placed to serve as a central hub for the region.”
Singtel’s S$5.5bn regional data centre business is part of the Digital InfraCo unit which was formed in June 2023.
Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo, said: “KKR’s investment underscores the quality of our data centre portfolio and confidence in our plans to scale the business by capitalising on the digitalisation and rapid AI adoption that is transforming this region.”
Arthur Lang, group CFO at Singtel, added: “The investment by KKR crystallises the latent value of our data centre assets.”
Lang said more than S$6bn had been unlocked since Singtel embarked on its strategic reset two years ago.
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