By Yantoultra Ngui
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -A consortium of U.S. funding agency KKR and Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has emerged because the frontrunner to purchase a minority stake price $1 billion in certainly one of Asia’s largest information centre suppliers, two sources mentioned.
The potential funding in STT Telemedia International Knowledge Centres (STT GDC) displays rising curiosity and demand for information centres throughout Asia Pacific as nations and corporations reply to the increase in synthetic intelligence.
The KKR-SingTel consortium is competing with New York-headquartered various funding agency Stonepeak for the stake of as much as 20%, one of many sources mentioned.
A deal might be sealed or introduced in early June, the primary supply added.
The sources declined to be recognized as the data will not be but public.
KKR declined to remark.
SingTel, in an area inventory change submitting on Wednesday, mentioned it recurrently explores and critiques enterprise alternatives, initiatives and proposals referring to its enterprise and enters into discussions with numerous events occasionally.
“When such discussions occur, there is no certainty that any transaction will arise from these discussions or that any definitive or binding agreement will be entered into pursuant to these discussions, and SingTel confirms that there is no definitive or binding agreement at this time,” it added.
STT and Stonepeak didn’t reply to requests for remark.
New York-based KKR purchased a 20% stake in SingTel’s regional information centre enterprise final yr for S$1.1 billion ($816 million).
In February KKR introduced it had raised $6.4 billion for a fund centered on Asia-Pacific infrastructure and energy-related belongings.
Based in 2014, STT GDC is without doubt one of the quickest rising information centre suppliers with operations in Singapore, the UK, Germany, India, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, in keeping with its web site.
ST Telemedia, father or mother of STT GDC, is a Singapore-headquartered strategic investor specialising in belongings together with communications and information centres, in keeping with its web site.
ST Telemedia is wholly owned by Singapore state funding agency Temasek Holdings.
