Singtel to sell 20% stake in data centre business

21 September 2023

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) is set to sell a 20% stake in its regional data centre business to private investment firm KKR for S$1.1 billion. The deal values Singtel’s total regional data centre business at S$5.5 billion.

Singtel’s data business is part of their Digital InfraCo unit, which was formed in June, and has operations in Singapore, India, and Thailand. Singtel will reportedly use the money from the sale to fund the further expansion of its this data centre business in Southeast Asia.

“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,” said Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Singtel’s Digital InfraCo.

“The data centre industry is growing at an accelerated pace given the unprecedented industry trends we are witnessing. KKR is a highly credible partner in the data centre space and we look forward to our strategic partnership in scaling up the platform to become a meaningful growth engine for Singtel,” said Singtel’s chief financial officer Arthur Lang. “The investment by KKR crystallises the latent value of our data centre assets and we hope this illuminates value for our shareholders in the coming months. With more than S$6 billion being unlocked since we embarked on our strategic reset two years ago, we continue to focus on unlocking value for our shareholders.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year.