A KKR logo displayed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 23, 2018.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Private equity firm KKR and Singapore Telecommunications will acquire the remaining 82% stake in data center operator ST Telemedia Global Data Centres for 6.6 billion Singapore dollars ($5.1 billion), KKR said in a statement on Wednesday.
The deal pegs STT GDC’s enterprise value at S$13.8 billion and comes at a time when there has been a jump in data center demand led by the boom in artificial intelligence.
Following completion, KKR will hold a 75% stake in STT GDC, while Singtel will own the remaining 25%, taking into account the conversion of existing preference shares held by both investors.
KKR said the deal represents its largest infrastructure investment in Asia Pacific to date, as global investment in data centers accelerates on rising need for cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads.
Singtel shares rose almost 2% to hit a record high before paring gains, and were last trading 0.41% higher. KKR shares, which lost nearly 10% on Tuesday, gained 0.5% in after hours trading.
Global data centers’ dealmaking hit a fresh record last year, driven by a rush to build out the infrastructure required for energy-intensive AI workloads, with S&P Global reporting that over $61 billion had flowed into the data center market, up from $60.8 billion last year.
“Digital infrastructure remains one of the most compelling long-term investment themes globally,” said David Luboff, co-head of KKR Asia Pacific and head of Asia Pacific infrastructure, citing STT GDC’s diversified footprint and development pipeline.
Citi acted as the lead financial advisor to KKR and Singtel in what marks the largest M&A deal in Singapore in the last four years, data from bank showed.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Singapore, STT GDC operates data centers across 12 markets in Asia Pacific, the United Kingdom and Europe, with 2.3 gigawatts of design capacity. The company provides colocation, connectivity and support services to hyperscalers and enterprise customers.
KKR and Singtel first invested in ST Telemedia Global Data Centres in June 2024, putting in $1.75 billion Singapore dollars for a minority stake.
“STT GDC’s diverse geographical footprint increases our exposure to new markets and makes the Singtel Group a stronger data centre player with global reach,” said Arthur Lang, group chief financial officer at Singtel.