Digital infrastructure REIT DigitalBridge Group, Inc., has just announced its acquisition of the data centre business of Hong Kong-based telecom services provider PCCW Ltd in a transaction worth $750 million.
PCCW will be handing over its data centre businesses or subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Malaysia – Powerbase HK and DC Malaysia, these assets will be merged into a single entity for the purpose of this transactions, the company said.
“DigitalBridge’s expertise investing in, building, and operating data centres to the highest standards aligns perfectly with PCCW DC’s next stage of development,” said Marc Ganzi, President and CEO of DigitalBridge.“This is a terrific platform for DigitalBridge to expand its regional presence while supporting a strong management team focused on serving many of the same hyperscale and large enterprise customers that DigitalBridge works with on a global basis.”
DigitalBridge became an investment management company of Colony Capital, after it was acquired in 2019 for $325 million. For the PCCW acquisition transaction, DigitalBridge is leveraging funds affiliated with its investment management platform and expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
PCCW includes nine more data centres in its portfolio, reporting net income of $3 million in 2020, and would gain $180 million out of the transaction. The company has been looking to sell these assets off since April, and said the sale is expected to allow the company to better focus and strengthen its core service and product offerings and create more value for its customers and shareholders.”
