Time Dotcom Seals Rm2bil Data Centre Deal With Digitalbridge

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Time dotCom Bhd divested 49% of ordinary shares and 100% of irredeemable convertible preference shares in AIMS Data Centre Holding Sdn Bhd, and 21% of ordinary shares in AIMS Data Centre (Thailand) Ltd to DigitalBridge Group last November.PETALING JAYA: Time dotCom Bhd has completed its transactions with funds affiliated with New York-listed DigitalBridge Group Inc for a strategic partnership to accelerate the expansion of AIMS Group (AIMS) data centre business across Asia.
The deal with DigitalBridge, announced last November, saw the divestment by Time of 49% of the ordinary shares and 100% of the irredeemable convertible preference shares in AIMS Data Centre Holding Sdn Bhd, as well as 21% of the ordinary shares in AIMS Data Centre (Thailand) Ltd.
It was reported the telecommunications provider will receive about RM2 billion from its divestments, of which up to RM1 billion was to be used to pay a special dividend to Time shareholders.
DigitalBridge is one of the world’s leading owners and operators of digital infrastructure assets. AIMS’ data centres include its flagship facility in downtown Kuala Lumpur, a purpose-built site in Cyberjaya, and a new data centre in downtown Bangkok.
Rapid and tactical expansion

In a statement today, Time said that with the completion of this deal, both parties are well-positioned for a rapid and tactical expansion of data centre facilities across primary and secondary cities in Asean and beyond.
“We focus on providing best-in-class services to multinationals, large enterprises, content providers, internet infrastructure providers and financial institutions,” it said.
The plans will centre on AIMS as the primary platform for expansion in the highly connected, ecosystem-centric data centre space while making Malaysia a core hub and gateway for greater connectivity in the region.
“We are excited to embark on the next chapter of AIMS’ journey to become a leading data centre provider in Asia. We believe that DigitalBridge’s global experience in other markets will serve as a critical accelerator in our plans for expansion,” said Time commander-in-chief Afzal Abdul Rahim.
DigitalBridge head of Asia Justin Chang said the global digital infrastructure investment arm looks forward to create a leading edge and interconnection data centre platform in the region.
“We believe that the combination of Time, AIMS and DigitalBridge is extremely powerful and can rapidly accelerate the growth of the business,” he said.
At the time of the announcement last November, the overall AIMS business was valued at an enterprise value of RM3.2 billion. This compared to its book value of RM240 million and represents a significant gain since Time first acquired AIMS in 2012 for just RM119 million. - FMT

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