DigitalBridge Group, Inc. recently announced that it has acquired an ownership stake in AIMS Group from TIME dotCom Berhad. The company also announced the formation of an edge data center platform focused on the high-growth markets of the Southeast Asia region.
“DigitalBridge’s expertise in investing, building, and operating data centers to the highest standards aligns perfectly with AIMS’ next stage of development,” said Justin Chang, Managing Director and Head of Asia for DigitalBridge. “AIMS is a leading operator in the region poised for significant growth, with a strong management team, a robust development pipeline, and considerable expansion capacity. This is a terrific platform for DigitalBridge, and we are excited to partner with TDC, which has a long heritage of building connectivity-linked businesses across Southeast Asia.”
“We believe that DigitalBridge is the right partner as they are committed to building on AIMS’ heritage and capitalise on its strengths. We see this as a true partnership that will allow us to tap on their global experience in other markets,” said Afzal Abdul Rahim, Commander-in-Chief of Time. “This strategic partnership allows us to crystallize substantial value from the investment we have made in AIMS over the years. Proceeds from the transaction of approximately RM2.0 billion will partly be used to pay a special dividend of up to RM1.0 billion to our shareholders, and the balance will be reinvested into the Group to further grow shareholder value.”
DigitalBridge is a global investment firm that owns, operates, and invests in digital infrastructure. This company is focused on finding unique investment opportunities in areas like data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small cells, and edge infrastructure. It has a platform that manages nearly $50 billion for its limited partners and shareholders.
Time and DigitalBridge partnership will expand data center facilities over ASEAN
The partnership between Time and DigitalBridge is based on bringing together two unique types of companies. One is a telecom and data center operator with assets all over ASEAN. The other is a digital infrastructure investor who has helped many successful data centers and internet infrastructure providers grow.
Both parties aim to expand data center facilities quickly in primary and secondary cities all over ASEAN, as well as other parts of the world by providing the best services possible to multinationals, large enterprises, content providers, internet infrastructure providers, and financial institutions. The plans will focus on AIMS as the main way to expand, while also making Malaysia a central hub for greater connectivity in the region.
AIMS operates several data centers in Malaysia. Its Kuala Lumpur flagship Menara AIMS facility anchors the Malaysia Internet Exchange (MYIX). These facilities provide highly interconnected environments to a diverse customer base which includes domestic and international telecommunications carriers, major enterprises, hyperscalers, and content distribution networks.
Transaction details
As part of the Time and DigitalBridge partnership, AIMS is being valued at RM3.2 billion on a 100% enterprise value basis. This is much higher than its current book value of RM240 million. The business was first acquired by Time in 2012 for RM119 million.
The strategic partnership involves Time immediately selling 49% of the ordinary shares and 100% of the irredeemable convertible preference shares in AIMS Data Centre Holding Sdn Bhd. It will also divest 21% of the ordinary shares in AIMS Data Centre (Thailand) Limited. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and will close in Q2 2023.
Read next: American company PTC acquires ServiceMax to strengthen field service management
