Singtel shares close 4.7% up after hitting two-month high on anticipation of potential STT GDC acquisition
The deal will be one of Asia’s largest data centre transactions if it goes through
[SINGAPORE] Singtel shares rose on Tuesday (Feb 3) following news that a consortium comprising the telco and private equity giant KKR is close to buying ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC).
The deal could potentially turn Singtel into a global data centre powerhouse and enable a merger between its data centre brand Nxera and STT GDC, analysts said.
Singtel shares climbed 5.4 per cent or S$0.25 to S$4.89 as at 1.29 pm, with more than 24.6 million shares changing hands. This marked the highest level for Singtel shares in over two months; the counter last traded higher on Nov 18.
It finished the day 4.7 per cent or S$0.22 higher at S$4.86. With more than 40.2 million shares transacted, it was one of the top traded counters on the Singapore Exchange for Tuesday.
Data centre deal
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday reported that a KKR-led consortium, comprising Singtel, is close to sealing a deal to buy ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, a data centre operator backed by Singapore investment company Temasek.
The deal, which values STT GDC at about US$10.2 billion, would be one of Asia’s largest data centre transactions if it goes through – and could potentially transform Singtel into a data centre powerhouse, analysts said.
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Sovereign wealth funds from Singapore and Abu Dhabi, GIC and Mubadala Investment, are reportedly in talks to join the deal as minority co-investors.
Singtel on Sunday confirmed that the deal is at an “advanced stage” but warned there is no guarantee it will go through.
STT GDC was established in 2014 by ST Telemedia, which is wholly owned by Temasek, to build Singapore’s flagship data centres.
Over the years, it acquired stakes in overseas data centre business, such as in the UK and India, and currently manages 100 facilities across 20 markets. Its IT load capacity is over 2.3 gigawatts globally and 110 megawatts in Singapore, where it operates six facilities, its website states.
Market watchers think that the deal could be transformative for Singtel, with RHB on Monday highlighting its potential to strengthen the telco’s data centre business and turn it into a powerhouse.
The acquisition could combine STT GDC’s “huge scale” and Singtel’s expertise in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, said DBS in November 2025. The bank highlighted that STT GDC’s data centre capacity is “much larger” than Singtel’s, which has a competitive edge in AI data centres.
Separately in June 2024, DBS also pointed out that investing in STT GDC could unlock benefits from growth in markets in which Singtel does not have a data centre presence, such as the UK, Germany, India and parts of Asia.
An investment could enable a potential merger between Nxera and STT GDC in the long haul, “to create a global player with large scale”, DBS said then. Nxera is backed by KKR, which agreed to pay S$1.1 billion for a 20 per cent stake in the data centre business in 2023. At the time, Singtel mentioned plans to scale Nxera into a leading green and sustainable data centre in the region.
KKR has investments in the data centre infrastructure sector in the US, Europe, Canada and the Middle East.
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