ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) has agreed to an investment of up to S$3bn (€2.1bn) from a KKR and Singtel consortium to fuel its growth.
The deal involves KKR’s Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors II fund and Singtel investing an initial S$1.75bn in STT GDC via redeemable preference shares including a potential additional investment of S$1.24bn from exercising warrants attached to the shares.
Following the transaction, ST Telemedia will continue to be the majority shareholder of STT GDC.
With over 95 data centres, STT GDC operates across Singapore, the UK, Germany, India, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
STT GDC said the proceeds of the investment will be used to further “advance its position in the markets it operates in, and to support its continuing international expansion and growth plans through organic and inorganic strategies”.
Bruno Lopez, president and group CEO of STT GDC, said: “Since our inception 10 years ago, STT GDC has developed into a leading data centre provider with a significant footprint in Asia, UK and Europe, supporting the growth of the world’s largest cloud and enterprise customers.
“With the industry experiencing unprecedented cloud and AI-led growth, this strategic partnership with KKR and Singtel will be a significant catalyst for STT GDC’s next chapter of growth as a leader in the digital infrastructure industry.”
David Luboff, co-head of KKR Asia Pacific and head of Asia Pacific infrastructure at KKR, said: “Our investment in STT GDC is a rare opportunity to support the growth of a leading data centre platform with a terrific track record of growth and significant potential, whilst deepening our existing collaboration with Singtel.
“Together, we look forward to leveraging our global network and expertise investing in digital infrastructure to power STT GDC’s continued success and international expansion, and to help it to achieve its next phase of transformation.”
In September last year, KKR acquired a 20% stake in Nxera, Singtel’s regional data centre business.
Arthur Lang, group CFO of Singtel, said: “Given our joint expertise in digital infrastructure, we are pleased to participate in this fundraising with KKR, deepening our relationship since its investment in our regional data centre arm Nxera last September.
“This is a solid opportunity for Singtel to gain exposure to an established platform with a footprint in high-quality data centre markets and aligns with our Singtel28 strategy to further scale our digital infrastructure business in collaboration with like-minded partners.”
Stephen Miller, president and group CEO of ST Telemedia, said: “As a strategic investor and shareholder, STT looks forward to working closely with our new partners to propel STT GDC in its exciting next phase of global growth.”
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