Singtel shares soar to record high on talk of $5b deal with KKR to buy Singapore data centre firm
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If successful, the deal would rank among Asia’s biggest data centre transactions, with the boom in artificial intelligence creating soaring demand for digital infrastructure.
PHOTO: ST TELEMEDIA GLOBAL DATA CENTRES
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SINGAPORE/HONG KONG - KKR & Co and Singtel are in advanced talks to buy more than 80 per cent of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) – which would give them full ownership – for over $5 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the plans said.
Global investment firm KKR currently owns about 14 per cent of the firm, while Singtel has a stake of more than 4 per cent. The rest of the company is held by ST Telemedia, which is wholly owned by Singapore state investment company Temasek.
KKR and STT GDC declined to comment. ST Telemedia and Singtel did not immediately respond to Reuters queries.
Singtel shares soared 5.4 per cent, or 23 cents, to close at a record high of $4.50 on Nov 6. It was among the most heavily traded stocks with 50.4 million shares changing hands.
If successful, the deal would rank among Asia’s biggest data centre transactions, with the boom in artificial intelligence creating soaring demand for digital infrastructure.
KKR is leading the acquistion, according to one of the sources, but Reuters was not able to learn the separate investment amounts planned by the global investment firm and Singtel.
A deal could be struck before year-end, though final terms and the timeline could still shift, the same source said. The sources declined to be identified as the matter is private.
KKR and Singtel first invested $1.75 billion in the data centre firm in June 2024.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Singapore, STT GDC describes itself as one of the world’s fastest-growing data centre providers.
It operates more than 100 data centres with over 2 gigawatts of IT load across over 20 major markets, including Singapore, India and Japan, as well as Europe via its VIRTUS brand in the UK Germany and Italy, according to its website.
KKR‘s Asia Pacific infrastructure business, launched in 2019, has about US$13 billion (S$17 billion) in assets under management. Recent deals include the acquisitions of Australian independent power producer Zenith Energy in June and poultry farming operator ProTen in July. REUTERS
