Ayala taps Singapore firm to build data centers

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group, the country’s oldest conglomerate, is strengthening its presence in the growing data center industry.

In regulatory filings, Ayala Corp., together with its telco arm Globe Telecom, is partnering with ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STT GCD), one of the world’s fastest-growing data center providers, for the construction, and operation of data center projects in the Philippines.

The $350 million  transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter.

Globe will receive proceeds of $100 million from the transaction while the remaining capital will be injected for future expansion and  growth.

Under the agreement, both AC and STT GDC shall subscribe to new shares in KarmanEdge Inc., a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Globe that will house the carved-out data center business, which has the potential to expand up to 100MW capacity in the mid to long term.

After the transaction, Globe will remain the largest shareholder in KarmanEdge with a  50 percent stake, followed by STT GDC with 40 percent and Ayala taking up the remaining 10 percent.

This venture will help accelerate Globe’s efforts to scale up its capacity and capabilities in the data center space and address the significant and growing demand for data center services in the country, both from local enterprises and global hyperscalers, including some of the biggest content providers in the world, Ayala said.

“This deal also allows Globe and Ayala to partner with one of the world’s largest data center operators and importantly, a partner that also aligns with its environmental, social and governance aspirations. Today, more than 43 percent of STT GDC’s data centers are operating with power derived from renewable sources, with an ambitious 2030 carbon-neutral target for all its data centers,” Globe said.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said the transaction is fully aligned with Globe’s view of the value and significant opportunity of the data center space in the Philippines, given current market demand and the country’s strategic location in the region.