APAC data center firm ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STT GDC) has been acquired.

Investment firm KKR and Singaporean telco Singtel this week announced the signing of definitive agreements to fully acquire the data center firm from ST Telemedia (STT).

The companies will acquire the remaining 82 percent stake in STT GDC from ST Telemedia for S$6.6 billion (US$5.1bn). Upon completion, KKR and Singtel will own stakes of 75 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

The deal is the largest M&A transaction in the data center space this year so far, but it falls short of the record $40 billion paid to acquire Aligned last year.

Stephen Miller, president & group CEO of ST Telemedia, said: “ST Telemedia established STT GDC 12 years ago to pioneer one of Asia Pacific’s leading data center platforms, combined with an equally strong position in the United Kingdom and Europe through VIirtus. We are proud of STT GDC’s market leadership and the exceptional value creation achieved by the team over that period.”

Headquartered in Singapore and founded in 2014, STT GDC is a data center provider with more than 95 sites across 12 geographies and points of presence in over 20 major business markets. The company currently has a total combined capacity of 1.7GW of IT load and 2.3GW of potential capacity.

The company operates in Singapore, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea. In Europe, it operates in the UK, Italy, and Germany through Virtus Data Centres. It previously offered services in mainland China through GDS, in which STT has a stake.

This deal values the total company at S$13.8 billion (US$10.9bn), including leverage and capital expenditure for committed projects. The deal is set to close in the second half of 2026.

KKR is making this investment predominantly from its Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy.

KKR and Singtel first invested a combined S$1.75bn (US$1.3bn) in STT GDC in 2024. KKR previously owned about 14 percent of the firm, while Singtel owns more than four percent.

Bruno Lopez, president & group CEO of STT GDC, added: “Today’s announcement marks an exciting new chapter in STT GDC’s journey, building on the strong foundations established over the past 12 years. We appreciate the pivotal role of ST Telemedia in nurturing and guiding the business to the breadth and scale it is today. This expanded investment from KKR and Singtel underscores their confidence in the quality of STT GDC’s business and its growth trajectory and will further accelerate our mission to deliver the critical infrastructure powering tomorrow’s digital economy.”

News that the two companies were interested in acquiring a controlling stake in STT GDC surfaced over the summer, with Singtel confirming negotiations were ongoing in November.

KKR owns data center operator CyrusOne alongside BlackRock-owned GIP, and is backing European operator GTR. It acquired a 20 percent stake in Singtel’s data center business for $800 million in 2023. That year, KKR also acquired liquid cooling company CoolIT alongside Mubadala.

KKR-owned CyrusOne operates or is developing more than 40 data centers across the US and Europe, but is expanding into Asia and developing a site in Tokyo, Japan.

David Luboff, co-head of KKR Asia Pacific and head of Asia Pacific infrastructure at KKR, said: “This transaction represents a rare opportunity to further support a high-quality platform and deepen our strategic partnership with Singtel. We look forward to deploying KKR’s global network and deep digital infrastructure expertise to help STT GDC accelerate its next phase of sustainable, international growth.”

Singtel is closing a number of small legacy data centers in Singapore, but still operates several large facilities in the city-state through its Nxera unit. Nxera is also developing several facilities around Southeast Asia in partnership with local players and expects to grow its total capacity from 200MW to 400MW in the coming years.

Arthur Lang, group CFO of Singtel, said: “This acquisition is a significant step towards scaling our new growth engine in digital infrastructure as mapped out in our Singtel28 growth plan. We appreciate ST Telemedia’s stewardship of the company and are confident that its seasoned leadership team will continue to scale the solid platform they have built. When added to our portfolio of data center assets that includes Nxera in which KKR is also a capital partner, it meaningfully changes the business complexion of the group while creating new opportunities for capital optimization and growth.”

Both ST Telemedia and Singtel are majority owned by Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government.

At one point, STT was a major investor in US colo giant Equinix. ST Telemedia launched i-STT in 2000, which was later merged into Equinix in the US. ST Telemedia became the largest strategic shareholder in Equinix, though it has since divested its interest in the company.