Temasek's ST Telemedia acquires majority stake in cloud computing firm

TEMASEK-owned ST Telemedia (STT) has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based cloud computing firm, Cloud Comrade. 

STT is an investor specialising in communications, media and technology businesses. 

The latest injection of funds into Cloud Comrade is set to bring complementary capability and market reach to STT's existing portfolio, and enhance STT's multi-cloud, managed service capabilities in Asia, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. 

With STT as an investor, Cloud Comrade can leverage STT's expertise, resources, international network and growing portfolio of infrastructure software solutions to pursue market opportunities, accelerate customer expansion, and enhance customer offerings, the companies added. 

Established in 2014, Cloud Comrade offers a range of cloud IT services from strategy and design, to deployment or migration and management of customers' IT infrastructure including 24/7 monitoring, maintenance, back-up and recovery. It also has a presence in Indonesia and Malaysia.

STT's executive vice-president of corporate development, Ronald Totton, said: "Asian governments and companies are embracing digital innovation and the cloud, driving demand for advanced AI and cloud implementation services that are customised for their needs. STT's acquisition of Cloud Comrade underscores our confidence in the potential of Asia's digital transformation market."

Cloud Comrade's co-managing director, Andy Waroma said STT's network and expertise will open up new business opportunities and market segments that were previously closed to the firm.  

"We are excited about fundamentally changing our game in the industry, and look forward to accelerating our growth in Asia," Mr Waroma added.

In recent years, STT has been strengthening its digital and cloud capabilities across its portfolio, making significant investments in the areas of data centres and AI-driven businesses focused on cybersecurity, big data and managed cloud services among others. 

In January last year, the group led a US$27 million investment into Bespin Global, a cloud focused managed service provider based in Korea and China.

This came shortly after it led a US$30 million investment round for digital experience company Instart in November 2017, and another US$89 million round of equity financing for cloud security company Armor in April 2017.