Globe Telecom Inc. and its parent, Ayala Corp. (AC), have entered into a $350-million venture with ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC), a data center provider based in Singapore, to develop, build, and operate data centers in the Philippines.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Globe said STT GDC and Ayala will subscribe to new shares in KarmanEdge Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe. KarmanEdge will house the data center business of the partners.
After the execution of the deal, Globe will remain as the largest shareholder in KarmanEdge with 50 percent shareholding, while STT GDC will hold 40 percent, and AC, 10 percent.
“The Philippines is an underserved market with huge demand for data center services. Together with STT GDC’s deep expertise and experience in developing, owning and operating data centers globally and AC’s significant business reach, relationships in the country and in the region, we believe that this Joint Venture will be well-positioned to become the leader in the data center space in the Philippines,” Globe President Ernest Cu said.
KarmanEdge is expected to “accelerate Globe’s efforts to scale up its capacity and capability” in the data center space, banking on what the expected demand from local enterprises and global hyperscalers.
“We are excited to support this initiative and leverage our wide relationships to maximize opportunities for the Venture. We believe we have found in STT GDC the right partner to help us scale up and play a major role in the development of the Data Center Industry in the country,” Ayala President and CEO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
Globe, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Innove Communications, Inc., has been operating data centers in the country since 2001 and has since expanded its portfolio nationwide, serving both its internal needs, local enterprises and global hyperscalers.
“We are thrilled to partner with Globe as we expand our global data center platform into the Philippines, further bolstering our strong presence within Asia. With Globe’s well-established digital solutions platform and our data center expertise, we are confident that through our partnership, we can build a leading data center platform in the country. This venture will enhance our offerings to support enterprises as they grow their digital infrastructure in the Philippines and the wider APAC region,” STT GDC President Bruno Lopez said.
The transaction is expected to be completed within the first quarter of 2022.